Amendments to the Housing Act (住宅法) aimed at assisting young people and disadvantaged groups with accommodation cleared the legislative floor yesterday.
After months of deliberation and negotiations the amendments passed amid applause from the lawmakers and civil groups, while the Ministry of the Interior expressed gratitude.
The changes increase the percentage of social housing reserved for “economically and socially vulnerable” groups to rent from 10 percent to 30 percent, while a portion is to be for those who work or study in a region outside their household registration area.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The qualification criteria for those applying for housing subsidies have also been adjusted, with economically and socially vulnerable groups and applicants who need work done on their homes because of structural concerns prioritized.
The rules offer landlords a tax break if they lease to vulnerable groups and those granted housing subsidies, with rent income to be tax be exempt if it is less than NT$10,000 per abode.
People living in illegally built structures who meet certain conditions qualify for three years of housing subsidies to help them move into legal housing.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴), who participated in the amendment process, said the emphasis of this round of amendments was to “lower the threshold for vulnerable groups to find proper housing, raise incentives for leasers to become ‘public welfare landlords,’ write off possible impediments to the construction of social housing and increase the percentage of social welfare facilities in the process of building social housing.”
KMT Legislator Sra Kacaw (鄭天財), an Amis, thanked the legislature and his colleagues for adding clauses that guarantee Aborigines improved benefits, including a percentage of social housing not lower than the ratio of the number of Aborigines to the overall population.
He said the guarantee is crucial, as the percentage of Aborigines who own houses is much lower than the national average, while the difference is even greater in the six special municipalities.
Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) expressed gratitude to the legislature after the amendments were passed, saying that while lawmakers have different opinions on the percentage of social housing to be guaranteed for vulnerable groups, the ministry’s version won their support.
It has been a concern of lawmakers from regions outside the six special municipalities that social housing might become a perk for city dwellers, but the ministry should strive to create a mechanism to accommodate the needs in different areas, Yeh said.
Taiwan has only 7,281 homes that are “rent only” social housing, which is only 0.08 percent of the national total, the ministry said.
It is ostensibly lower than the 5 percent in Japan and South Korea and the 30 percent in European countries, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Friday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
FORCED LABOR: A US court listed three Taiwanese and nine firms based in Taiwan in its indictment, with eight of the companies registered at the same address Nine companies registered in Taiwan, as well as three Taiwanese, on Tuesday were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) as a result of a US federal court indictment. The indictment unsealed at the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, said that Chen Zhi (陳志), a dual Cambodian-British national, is being indicted for fraud conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding Group’s forced-labor scam camps in Cambodia. At its peak, the company allegedly made US$30 million per day, court documents showed. The US government has seized Chen’s noncustodial wallet, which contains
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
RSS