Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang of the Democratic Progressive Party announced yesterday (7th) on his Facebook fan page "housing policies" such as increasing the life extension of old homes and promoting the diversified construction of social housing.
Are civil servants working overtime again? Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang of the Democratic Progressive Party yesterday (7th) announced on his Facebook page "residential policies" such as increasing the life extension of old homes and promoting the construction of diversified social housing. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan's campaign questioned Shen Boyang's urban land replacement policy before the election. Is the so-called "unlimited urban renewal" just to make citizens wait indefinitely in the slogan? The Taipei City Urban Development Bureau issued a press release that day, mentioning that "the city government is already on the way to implement Commissioner Shen's housing policy."
The Taipei City Urban Development Bureau's press release on the 7th emphasized that among them, the "Old Houses Life Extension and Increase" project has established an old house action service team, with three people signing up to provide services at the house; maintenance subsidies have been increased, with a maximum of NT$20 million; and for simple repairs of public areas, the application threshold has been lowered in 2024, and more than half can apply. In addition, the policy of "promoting the diversified construction of social housing and revitalizing empty houses" is already being implemented; the city government is promoting the diversified construction of social housing with the goal of 50,000 households and continues to implement it; married families are entitled to rent discounts and tenancy protection measures have already been implemented; the housing needs of technology industry clusters and the local employed population have also been considered, and the social housing rental system has been used to support industrial development, and an inventory of Jiang Wanan's achievements during his tenure has been taken into consideration.
In addition, after reviewing the actual promotion situation, an "increased subsidy amount" was launched on July 1 this year. For households with elderly people, infants, young children, or disadvantaged persons, the subsidy for adding an elevator will be increased to 80% or 4.8 million yuan. The upper limit of subsidy for exterior wall renovation has also been increased to 12 million yuan. For repair projects such as public pipelines and roof waterproofing projects, subsidy applications can be submitted together with exterior wall renovation.
If the apartment is confirmed to have no space to add an elevator, the Building Management Engineering Office will also provide subsidies for improving barrier-free elevators, wheelchair lifting platforms, and stair lifts. "Starting from November this year, the upper limit of subsidies will be increased from 49% to 60%, and the architect's design fee will be increased by NT$60,000 per case."
The Metropolitan Development Bureau stated that whether it is leasing, providing repair subsidies, or tax exemptions, they are all policies that have been implemented by the central and local governments. Since 2017, it has implemented a social housing leasing and management program to encourage landlords to release empty houses for citizens in need. As of October this year, a total of 4,717 cases have been processed.
As for the repair subsidy, the city government has launched the fifth phase of the program this year to strengthen care for disadvantaged groups. If the landlord rents the elevator building or first-floor residence to seniors over 65 years old, the annual repair subsidy will be increased by 10%, and the total can be increased to a maximum of 16,500 yuan per year.
The Metropolitan Development Bureau mentioned that as of the end of September this year, the total number of social housing units built in Beijing City had reached 36,974 units, of which 32,253 units were built locally and 4,721 units were built by the central government. However, the press release did not mention when the calculation started, only saying that the city government "has never stopped promoting social housing."
Metropolitan Development Bureau: Jiang Wanan took stock of 33 potential sites for social housing with 7,041 households during his term of office
The Urban Development Bureau emphasized: "Since Mayor Jiang took office, he has inventoried and announced 33 potential sites for social housing with 7,041 households, including developable municipal land, public urban renewal, transit-oriented (TOD) multi-purpose use, and public housing reconstruction. Planning, legal procedures, and budget preparations have been carried out according to the conditions of each case to prepare for the future supply of social housing. What Commissioner Shen has proposed is more feedback and has long been one of the city government's diversified construction methods."
The Metropolitan Development Bureau stated that rent discounts and tenancy guarantee measures for married families have been implemented for a long time. It has also taken into account the housing needs of technology industry clusters and the local employed population. It has reserved 10% and 15% of the total households in Xingshan, Jiuzong, and Ruiguang Social Houses near Neihu District Neike, respectively, to provide applications for those employed in the Neihu Science and Technology Park, and an additional 30% for households in the area (including those who study and work locally). The proportion of rent allocation that relevant groups can apply for reaches more than 40%.
In addition, in Beitou District's Fuguo Community, employees in the Beishike Park will be included in the application qualifications for residents in the area, so as to promote the industrial employment population to live locally and reduce cross-district commuting.
The Metropolitan Development Bureau reiterated: "Looking at the housing policies proposed by Commissioner Shen, whether it is extending the life of old houses or diversifying the construction of social housing, they are already policies being implemented by the North City Government. The city government will continue to promote them within the established policy goals."
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang. (Photo by reporter Chen Yikuan)
