City 'ants' face eviction from colonies
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This 2009 file photo shows a property for low-paid workers in Tangjialing, Beijing. It was demolished last summer. |
A report on the 2010 housing rental market in Beijing by the 5i5j property agency found the demand for group rentals had risen as a result of rising rental costs.
"For those who pay less than 1,000 yuan a month, the average rent is 814 yuan for an average area of 15.41 square meters. The major house types are two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments, with each containing four to eight tenants," read the report.
Its authors added that, over the next two years, demand in Beijing will further increase due to the city's plan to renovate underground areas, including the disused air-raid shelters that house the so-called "mouse tribe".
"Although the Beijing government has initiated a number of public rental housing projects, factors including hukou and rental prices will prevent the (projects) from fully functioning for many low-income people," the report concluded. "The group is likely to keep living in Beijing's outskirts or depending on group rentals."
The latest policy also demands that the amount of living space per capita does not fall below the required standard set by local authorities. For example, in Beijing rooms should be at least 4 square meters in a bungalow and at least 10 square meters in a multi-story building.
Meeting the targets will be hard, said Lian Si, assistant professor at UIBE's school of public administration and author of the book, Ant Tribe.
A six-month survey by Lian's team last year found 59.6 percent of "ants" live in rooms smaller than 10 square meters and 20.4 percent in rooms smaller than 5 square meters. The poll included 4,807 residents in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Xi'an, Chongqing and Nanjing, cities with high concentrations of "ants".
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