Located alongside East Fourth Ring Road and designed by master architect Ma Yansong, the highly anticipated Baiziwan public rental housing community began taking public application for 3,600 rental units in early November, and immediately received a large number of submissions.

Green channel for quick approval process

According to the "Beijing Urban Master Plan (2016-2035)," the city will supply more than 1.5 million residential housing units in the next five years, two thirds of which are the "policy-directed housing," as opposed to commercial housing.

To facilitate the approval procedures for these housing projects, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MCHURD) and other related departments have further optimized their work process. The department established a green channel for approval in order to share information in real time and seamlessly coordinate work across different departments.

As a result, the construction pace of affordable housing in Beijing was accelerated. According to data from the Beijing MCHURD, as of October, Beijing fulfilled the annual target for public housing ahead of schedule, and started construction on 50,041 affordable housing units, allocated 21,000 public rental housing units to applicants, and renovated 26,100 households from shanty towns.

Increased supply to meet demand

Public rental housing is a hot topic in the market this year, as the government strives to ease people's housing anxiety through various projects. As of October, 21,000 public rental housing units have been allocated to applicants, surpassing this year's target number by 40 percent ahead of schedule. Among them, 2,100 public rental housing units have been allocated to residents who do not have Beijing hukou (household registration status).

The allocation program has adopted various methods to meet demands in different areas. More public rental houses are located in the city's sci-tech areas and industrial parks to meet employees' demand, while special rental schemes are carried out among young college teachers and personnel that provide support for the city.

In addition, rental houses on collectively owned land have become a new solution to public housing in Beijing. Last year, the city identified 39 housing projects on collectively owned land, with a construction land area of 203.9 hectares. Among them, six projects have started construction, which are expected to provide 4,500 housing units; two other projects have basically been completed, which can provide 2,600 housing units.

Better quality and safer environment

The government also introduced an expert review mechanism to every public housing project in Beijing, which starts from the design process. Construction begins only after the design is discussed and approved by a panel of experts. In addition, every project is required to present "finished model rooms" for public scrutiny for six months after the final handover of the houses. This allows prospective buyers to have an idea of the interior decoration and monitor the decoration process.

In response to the illegal subleasing of public rental housing, Beijing has further intensified post-rental supervision. Apart from neighbors reporting on illegal subleasing, technical support will help to make real-time supervision possible in the area. At present, Beijing has installed a total of 55 facial recognition systems in the public rental housing projects, 11 of which are already in operation.

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)