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January 29, 2011

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Lianming's low-cost housing project on the rise

THE 404-unit Lianmingyayuan residential complex, built by developer Lianming Co at a cost of 93 million yuan (US$13.6 million), is about half leased five months after it opened.

The new community is part of a government subsidy program aimed at providing low-cost housing to younger workers and migrant labor who are employed in the district. The rents are usually up to 30 percent less than prevailing market rates.

The Lianmingyayuan complex is located in Lianming Village, a collectively owned area zoned for industrial use. In 2008, 608 households in the village invested 150,000 yuan each for its construction. They were promised a seven percent return on their money every year, to be paid out of rents and other income-producing properties controlled by the village.

Yang Zhirong, chairman of Lianming Co and party secretary of the village, said residents came up with the idea of funding the project themselves.

"The village is not rich, and we had planned to apply for bank loans at first," Yang explained. "But then the villagers said they could provide the money. The plan was approved by village leaders because they believed it was a good way to make efficient use of the excess land and would give villagers some investment income."

The complex comprises two apartment buildings. Lianming also plans to build a kindergarten serving the complex within a year, and construction on a convenience store, a table tennis room, restaurants and a library have started, said Yang. A basketball court has already been put into use.

The rent for 72 of the units that are 70 square meters in size is about 2,300 yuan a month. Smaller units of 45 squares are leased for 1,480 yuan.

The rent covers property management fees. Tenants must pay for their own water and electricity.

All of the apartments come equipped with furnishings, air-conditioners and broadband hookups. All a tenant needs is a suitcase to move in.

The village committee participates in the management of the property. Security is tight. Renters must swipe their cards to enter the buildings, and visitors must register upon entry.

A maximum of eight people are allowed to live in the 70-square-meter apartments and up to four people in the smaller unit. Leases are annual.

Luo Xinyu, who works at the Qibao Kaisi Automobile Parts Market, was one of the first tenants to move into the complex when it opened in September. He and his wife share their 70-square-meter flat with four colleagues to defray rent costs.

Luo said he is happy to be in a new home.

"My company is a five-minute walk from my home," he said. "I am more than satisfied with the apartment. It's nice to have security guards on duty 24 hours a day."

Luo's rent and bills are subsidized by his company. The only thing lacking in his apartment, he said, is a dispenser for distilled water.

A new apartment has also lifted the spirits of Shen Huajun and Wu Xinghua, a couple from Hubei Province. They moved to the city five years ago and recently settled in a 45-square-meter apartment in the community.

Shen works in a molding company in Qibao and has just been promoted to a department manager's position.

"Previously, my wife and I had to move house frequently when we were living in Pudong and Puxi," Shen said. "Now that somewhat itinerant life has come to an end."

He said he and his wife are hoping to scrape together the money to buy their own apartment someday.

Getting into Lianmingyayuan is no easy feat. Yang said the application process favors workers at larger, more successful companies in Qibao.

"In principle, enterprises that pay at least 1 million yuan in taxes are given priority in housing for their workers," he said. "Individuals must show certification from the companies that employ them."

Employees, as a rule, must have worked for those companies for at least three years to be eligible for the low-cost housing.

A variety of properties qualify under the public rental scheme, including dormitory buildings at work sites and buildings renovated from some old factories or office buildings. Property developers are allowed to set the criteria for approving rental applications.

As part of the affordable rent program, the government also is constructing new apartment complexes. Work is nearing completion on projects in the Xinjiangwan area of Yangpu District and Huajing Town in Xuhui District. The two sites, covering over 300,000 square meters, will add 5,000 apartments to the program.

Applications from people seeking housing in the new complexes won't require work certification.

The Shanghai Municipal Government has plans to build at least 200,000 public rental housing units under its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).


 

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