Affordable housing increased for migrant workers

Shanghai's target for this year to provide housing for 30,000 migrant workers at affordable prices is expected to be achieved by October, according to local officials.

Housing for 21,100 workers has been provided at 25 sites spanning all of the city's 16 districts so far, with most monthly rents priced between 500 yuan ($71) and 1,000 yuan, accounting for no more than 15 percent of a migrant worker's monthly salary, the Shanghai Housing Administration said on Aug 30.

Shanghai's efforts to provide housing to workers gathered pace last year after the country's and the city's leaders emphasized that migrant workers deserve a safe and pleasant living environment at an affordable price, as they contribute greatly to the city's development.

The housing administration said that the locations of such housing should be where there are mature living services, convenient public transportation, and where industries and workers are concentrated.

Most of the apartments in such housing programs are for four people, some with two beds or a double bed for a couple. The apartments are equipped with necessary furniture, electrical appliances, and cooking and bathroom facilities, and tenants can move in with just their necessities.

Qualified employers need to apply for the housing program and rent apartments for their employees, with the employer and employees covering the rent, said the housing administration.

Shu Junxiang, 26, who works at a property management firm in Pudong New Area, has been living in such a housing program on Kangqiao Road in Pudong since the beginning of this year. He shares a 30-square-meter room with three others.

"I used to rent an apartment of similar size, and it cost more than 3,000 yuan a month. Now my firm and I share the rent of 600 yuan a month, which greatly alleviates my financial burden," said Shu, adding that it takes only 10 minutes to go to work by electric bike.

"I feel at ease at the apartment complex. There is a service center where we can have our hair cut and do the laundry at lower-than-market prices," said Shu, who has worked in Shanghai since 2019.

Yao Yong, deputy general manager of Shanghai Gangcheng Lingyu Housing Leasing Co, which manages the housing program on Kangqiao Road, said that there are nearly 300 apartments in the residential compound, with 11 six-story buildings renovated from college students' dorms. The program provides a total of nearly 1,200 beds.

Public services at the compound include public charging facilities for residents to charge their e-bikes at designated outdoor parking lots, stalls selling breakfast and shuttle buses to metro stations, said Yao.

"Currently, 90 percent of the apartments are taken. The firms signing leasing contracts with us are mostly those providing security, cleaning, catering, construction and express delivery services nearby," he said.

"Such programs effectively solve front-line workers' living problems in the region. The rent here is much more affordable than the market price, which charges usually 5,000 yuan for an apartment of around 30 sq m," he said.

Xu Ling, a 28-year-old woman who has lived in the compound for four months, said women have higher requirements for safety with regard to their living environment, and she feels safe in the residential compound.

"Non-residents must register when they enter and exit the compound, and residents must go through digital facial recognition when entering. Also, property management workers patrol regularly around the clock. All of that makes me feel very safe," she said.