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Are house rents that low?

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-13 08:02

The Guangzhou mayor recently cited his own example to ask people to change their mind "from possessing a house to renting one". But his experience cannot apply to ordinary citizens, says an article in China Youth Daily. Excerpts:

The Guangzhou mayor recently tried to persuade people to rent houses instead of buying them, and said he had rented a 130-square-meter "dormitory" for 600 yuan a month. But it is impossible for ordinary people to rent such a big house for such a low monthly charge.

In fact, many ordinary people are reluctant to buy a house by borrowing huge amounts from banks. Some cannot even afford the down payment. Such people will love to move into rented houses if the cost is similar to what the mayor pays. It's even highly possible that most middle class people may not even think of buying a house.

Moreover, ordinary people enjoy little protection in the house-leasing market. Landlords often drive away tenants or raise the rent whenever they want.

While renting a house, most tenants pray that their landlords turn out to be nice people. People expect the same from the government: It should be nice not only to officials, but also to the public and take steps to check housing prices and provide enough houses for everyone.