At the Cabinet's weekly meeting on Thursday, Premier Chen Chien-jen received a progress update from the Ministry of Interior (MOI) on the government's expanded rent subsidy program for the period 2023-2024. The premier said the program provides subsidies to ease the burden of rentals for young singles, newlyweds, childrearing households, and socially or economically disadvantaged renter households, and said he anticipates the policy will continue to be refined into the future to ensure Taiwan's renter population is properly taken care of.
The MOI is actively promoting the program in addition to other housing policies, including a social housing strategy that will provide 200,000 additional social housing units through a combination of direct construction and the provision of rental units through a subleasing and management program. The premier recognized the achievements that have been made toward building a more comprehensive rental welfare system and realizing housing justice.
To provide housing support for the public, in 2022 the central government initiated an NT$30 billion (US$950.1 million) expanded rent subsidy program to alleviate living costs for 500,000 renter households annually. From July 2023 to the end of February 2024, the program received applications from over 610,000 households and approved applications for 430,000 households, including previously subsidized households that were carried over. The program is thus projected to surpass its forecast capacity of 500,000 households. The premier directed the MOI to swiftly submit a revised program to ensure that all those who apply and qualify for rent subsidies can receive them.
Premier Chen expressed his gratitude to local governments for cooperating with the central government on this issue. He hopes local governments will in the future assist further by providing more land for social housing, and work together with the central government toward the goal of constructing new social housing.