Applications to rent accommodations at Taipei City’s second public housing project will be open to young residents beginning next month, offering 30 units in a 13-story building above the MRT Xingtian Temple Station with monthly rental prices starting at NT$10,700 per unit.
The units, located in the building above the metro rail station as part of a co-development project of an MRT station and residential apartment, come in three sizes — 10 ping (33m2), 12 ping and 16 ping. The monthly rent for each unit will be about 70 percent of the average rent in the area.
Taipei residents under the age of 45 who do not own property as well as low-income families will be eligible to rent these units, according to Chien Se-fang (簡瑟芳), a division chief at the city’s Department of Urban Development.
On an inspection tour of the construction site yesterday, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the project represents the city government’s efforts to provide affordable and high-quality housing for the city’s younger generation.
“The city’s first public housing project in Dalongdong (大龍峒) has attracted very positive responses from residents and we believe these high-quality units will change the public’s perception about public housing and make the city more beautiful,” Hau said.
The first public housing project, in Datong District (大同), which has 110 units, was made available for rent last year.
Chien said the monthly rent for the units at MRT Xingtian Temple Station would be NT$10,700, NT$12,000 and NT$13,600, and that applications to rent the units would open next month. Selected applicants can move in as early as September.
The Hau administration has plans to increase the number of cheap housing units throughout the city to 50,000 over the next four years, to address skyrocketing real-estate prices.
The city has selected an abandoned supermarket in Wenshan District (文山) for a 90-unit public rental apartment complex. The city also plans to introduce more public housing units near MRT Xingtian Temple Station, as well as around Xianse Temple Station and Xindian Station, which are both in New Taipei City (新北市).
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