Public-rental Houses Available for Migrant Workers to Rent

During the recent State Council meeting, Chinese policymakers vowed¹ to boost efforts to build more subsidized apartments for low-income residents. The policy emphasizes that migrant workers in cities across the country are encouraged to apply for low-rental² housing.

Let's take a closer look with reporter Liu Min.

 
The policy says public-rental housing program mainly is for low and middle income households, newly employed urban workers and migrant workers who have stable jobs in the city. The average accommodation space per apartment is around 40 square meters, with the rental fees lower than the market prices. Some migrant workers were quite happy to learn about this news.

"It's quite nice if we could live in lower-rental houses, and plus it belongs to the state, with better living and safety standards."

"Of course it'd be perfect if we could move in to a better place at cheaper prices."

In Beijing, the public-rental houses are divided into four types of apartments based on the size, ranging from 30 to 60 square meters.

Financially, the Beijing municipal government has established an investment center to support government-subsidized housing construction. The local government invested more than 10 billion yuan this June, and they promise to take 10 percent of the profits made from land rental fees across the city every year to continuously inject financial support into these kinds of housing projects.

One migrant worker in Beijing says he that he might apply for a public-rental apartment later.

"I now live with another six people in one dormitory provided by our factory. It's not very convenient if my family visits me. There's a whole lot of mess in the dorm. I hope I can also enjoy the public-rental houses one day."

For some migrant workers, living in public-rental houses is not a dream. Feng Yujiao from Guangdong province has been working in the city of Changzhou for several years. The local policy has relaxed for migrant worker applicants³ since last year. She tried to apply for a single room for herself through her company, she got the keys one week later.

"I was amazed when I moved in. The home appliances are all prepared in the apartment, including the refrigerator, wardrobe, bookshelf, bed, air conditioner, washing machine, and water heater. I needed to spend at least 800 yuan to rent before, but now I only need 400 yuan per month to live in a public-rental house."

Many migrant workers are happy to learn about the policy for migrant workers on public-rental housing, but whether it can be efficiently⁴ implemented⁵ is still a question in their minds.

"The only thing I worry about is whether we would be equally treated by the government when they face many applications including both migrant workers and local applicants."

Such worries are quite reasonable since there have been some instances of corruption⁶ relating to government subsidized housing. For example, in some cases wealthy people have been able to live in subsidized houses, despite driving luxury cars.

The central government has pointed⁷ out that the management over public-rental houses has to be strict and consistent. The administrative⁸ system has to define when the tenants⁹ need to move in and out. Instances where houses are rented for personal profit should be punished financially in a very severe way to make sure all applicants and tenants are treated appropriately.

For CRI, I'm Liu Min.

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

3 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

4 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

5 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

9 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。