Annual rent subsidies totaling NT$30 billion (US$930.23 million) would continue to be offered for 500,000 households as part of President William Lai’s (賴清德) “Million Support Project for Tenants,” a government official said yesterday.
The goal of the program is to provide 250,000 social housing units, 250,000 rental units under the scheme, and yearly rental subsidies totaling NT$30 billion for up to 500,000 households until 2032, said the official, who asked to remain anonymous.
The number of social housing units would increase by 35,000 every year, including 15,000 newly built units and 20,000 subleased and managed units, they said.
Photo: CNA
Meanwhile, the 2023-2024 program in April exceeded the target of 500,000 households approved for rental subsidies, two months earlier than estimated, a Ministry of the Interior report said.
The Executive Yuan approved of all the eligible applicants despite already having hit the target, the official said, adding that the ministry has submitted a revised plan.
Those who are eligible can continue to apply to the program without their rights and interests being affected, and the cost would be covered by the housing fund and, when that is insufficient, the National Treasury Administration, the official said.
The government would simplify the review process and improve operations for next year, they added.
Authorities would find land, including underutilized public property and old buildings, while also cooperating with schools to construct more social housing, the official said.
Citing the Measures to Promote Social Welfare Housing Policies and Increasing Usable Land for Housing Projects (推動社會住宅成果與提升社宅用地供給精進措施) passed in December last year by the Executive Yuan, the official said that 3 percent of development areas in the six special municipalities, and 5 percent in other administrative regions, should be reserved for social welfare facilities.
The reserved land needs comprehensive spatial planning to build “a small town” by integrating the social housing with essential public facilities such as daycare centers to meet the local needs, the official said.
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