Rental rates for Taipei’s joint development housing should be slashed, disability advocates said yesterday.
More than 20 physically challenged people in wheelchairs and their supporters from the People’s Democratic Front (PDF) yesterday rallied outside Department of Urban Development offices in Taipei.
Shouting slogans accusing the Taipei City Government of ignoring the public interest and breaking promises to offer low rental rates, activists turned in modified versions of application forms for the city’s “joint development” housing.
The activists’ demand that rent be fixed at less than 30 percent of a tenant’s income was printed in large bold lettering on the modified forms.
Under joint development agreements, the city receives a certain proportion of luxury apartments built by private contractors on prime land appropriated by the city as part of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) construction process.
Chou Chih-wen (周志文), a research specialist with the PDF’s disability rights group, said the apartments were ideal for the severely disabled because of their size and location next to MRT stations.
“A physically challenged person needs about 15 ping [49.59m2] and to find that kind of space in a wheelchair-accessible location that is affordable is extremely difficult,” he said, adding that many landlords are not willing to rent to the physically challenged.
Many physically challenged people are forced to live in institutions because landlords have concerns about the potential for wheelchairs and other equipment to damage their property and also question whether the severely disabled — who are often unable to work — are able to pay their rent, he said.
While city “joint development” housing would be ideal for disabled residents, the rental fees charged by the city effectively price them out, he said, adding that physically challenged residents are only eligible for welfare and housing subsidies of NT$6,900 per month.
Rental prices for the current round of “joint development” housing released by the city governemtn ranges from NT$8,400 to NT$27,600, depending on the size and location of the apartment.
Although rental fees are discounted by 15 percent relative to market rates, city residents have thus far shown little interest in all but the least expensive apartments, Department of Urban Development subdivision head Hsieh Chih-chiang (謝志強) said. While the city government has received 143 applications for the 310 units released in the latest round, most applicants drop their bids when they discover the cheapest housing units are already taken, he said, adding that only 29 units have been rented so far.
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