Affordable Housing and Social Security Housing in the People’s Republic of China

摘要

Currently, the construction of social security housing is boosted in China in missions to stimulate the economy against depression and conquer the deficiency in social or public housing supply, which has been ignored since the housing reform in the late 1990s. Based on comprehensive literature review, the paper firstly reviews definitions of social security housing from local governments in China and sums up various terms related, finding that though the main types of housing including low-rent housing and economical housing are still the same as before, the political guideline beneath has converted from reform to security, showing progress. Then specific comparison was made between social security housing and its corresponding type, namely the affordable housing, in the US and the UK. It shows that the affordable housing in developed counties is abundant in subsidy and property forms, and social security housing is obscure in its target without a comprehensive allocation mechanism. Furthermore, the paper explores the reasons behind such problem in China. Lacking of housing act to protect residents’ housing right will result in the dependence on the state and local authorities’ unstable directions which would badly affected the benefits of households in the future. In addition, the underdeveloped official system of statistics and investigation is a restriction to a fine planning which is also harmful to administrations’ prestige.