At the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Lai Ching-te instructed several government agencies to take stock of underutilized real estate resources under their jurisdictions that can be developed for social housing purposes. Nationwide, the number of social housing units already built or currently under construction is approximately 22,000, with the expectation that it will reach 30,000 by the end of 2018 and 40,000 by next year.
The government's social housing policy is designed to help disadvantaged groups and young people find secure housing, the premier said, adding that it is an important means of achieving housing justice. To fulfill President Tsai Ing-wen's target of 200,000 social housing units in eight years, the government amended the Housing Act in January 2017 to create a long-term mechanism for promoting the social housing, and followed up with a social housing establishment program in March 2017 to expedite the policy's implementation.
The central government will inaugurate the National Housing and Urban Regeneration Center this August while some local governments may employ a company or administrative corporation model specifically to promote this policy. These moves are intended to raise the quantity as well as the quality of social housing units. And as the number of units reaches established targets, more young people will be able to afford secure housing, which will hopefully translate into higher marriage and birth rates for the entire nation, the premier said.