Collective Rentals...the haves vs the have-nots...

[rogerluli]

We saw this on Shanghai TV news the other night as the police made a big show of "destroying" a collective rental apartment. Affordable housing may be a popular catch-word in government lingo but it is seldom to be found. One wonders what might happen if suddenly the 2 - 3 million strong floating population of a city like Shanghai suddenly not only couldn't find housing but couldn't find jobs either... B)

 

SHANGHAI ¡ª Early one recent Friday morning, government agents dressed in military fatigues and lugging sledgehammers stormed into one apartment after another at a huge housing complex here. They smashed walls and tossed tenants' belongings outside. Frightened occupants fled.

 

These weren't drug houses or prostitution dens. The targets of raids were "collective rentals": apartments divided into tiny rooms and crammed with 10 or more tenants, many of them migrant workers.

 

"All of a sudden, we've become pests of society," said one resident driven onto the streets.

 

The raid last month at Twin River Bay apartments in northwest Shanghai shows how tensions have risen as landlords, residents and governments grapple with a severe housing crunch in Chinese cities.

 

Soaring home prices and rents have put ordinary housing out of reach for many workers. New apartments are going up, but often they're snapped up by investors from out of town, creating legions of absentee owners. Meanwhile, young people from the countryside continue to flood into cities.

 

Of Shanghai's 20 million residents, 2 million to 3 million are thought to be part of the city's "floating population." There may be jobs for them, but where to live is another matter.

 

Affordable housing -- a perennial issue in large U.S. cities such as Los Angeles -- has become one of the toughest challenges for China's central government as it gears up for the Communist Party Congress in mid-October, held every five years.

 

President Hu Jintao, who is expected to solidify his power at the meeting, has built his platform on the motto of harmonious society. But harmony is in short supply in communities such as Twin River Bay.

 

The government has ordered construction of more low-rent, subsidized housing nationwide, but for the most part, the Communist Party apparatus, which once allotted housing to workers, has taken a hands-off approach to the problem.

 

The free-market solution has been collective rentals. In typical Chinese entrepreneurial fashion, a cottage industry has sprung up around the practice.

 

Until the raid, Ge Yiwei, 18, and his older sister managed half a dozen such apartments at Twin River Bay. In most cases, he said, property owners couldn't find families who would pay $300 to $350 a month for their two-bedroom units. So the owners turned over the keys to a collective rental business.

 

One apartment, Ge said, had 17 tenants. One bedroom contained eight bunk beds. Partitions made of plaster divided the living room into three cubicles. Everybody shared one bathroom. Some rooms came with a TV and a desk. Towels were provided. Tenants paid on average about $40 a month, for a total of almost $700 for the unit.

 

In some months, the Ge siblings took home a combined $500. "I slept wherever there was a vacant bed," said Ge, who now works for a restaurant in Shanghai making about $170 a month, $16 of which goes for a bed in an employer-run dorm.

 

Government officials in Shanghai didn't respond to requests for interviews about the raid or the issue of collective renting. By some analysts' estimates, though, the practice is common in a third of all Shanghai apartment complexes.

 

At Twin River Bay, a onetime slum that has been cleaned up, more than 600 apartments are collectively rented to an estimated 10,000 tenants, according to local media reports. Among them are students and white-collar workers whose pay, even with minimum-wage increases in recent years, has failed to keep pace with housing costs.

 

"Just take a look at the income standards and current rent prices and you'll understand these people's choices," said Gu Jun, a sociology professor at Shanghai University.

 

Chinese officials are trying to temper speculation in housing markets. Last week, authorities bumped up interest rates for mortgages and upped the down-payment requirement to 40% from 30% for those buying second homes. But with many investors reportedly paying 100% cash for houses, the latest move isn't likely to have much punch. Across the nation, home prices rose more than 8% in August from a year earlier, and the pace was even faster in some larger cities, the central government said.

 

But the problem isn't confined to big cities. On Hainan Island off the southeastern coast, collective renting has grown as migrant workers have arrived for jobs in cabarets. The island's minimum wage is less than $70 a month while rent for a single room costs at least $40, said Wang Zhiwu, an economics professor at Hainan University.

 

If it weren't for the warm climate, he said, which allows people to sleep on beaches year-round, the situation would be more miserable.

 

When Wang read reports of the raid in Shanghai, he was beside himself. "It's ridiculous," he said. "Why can't rich people be more tolerant of poor people?"

 

Beijing and Shanghai may have the most at risk. Some scholars worry that a lack of housing options will exacerbate labor shortages.

 

In Beijing, there's no shortage of takers for collective rentals. Beijing is a magnet for students, and huge pools of workers have come to remake the city for the 2008 Olympics. Adding to the housing crunch, Beijing and other cities have demolished many old neighborhoods that weren't pretty but had plenty of cheap housing.

 

With tensions flaring, local governments are starting to draft rules banning collective renting. Jin Yusong, vice general manager of Beijing Linkhome Real Estate Agent Co., predicts that will just drive the practice underground and cause more trouble.

 

"The biggest problem of collective renting is safety," Jin said. "Because all these tenants are strangers coming in from everywhere and sharing a small space, it is really hard for them to trust each other. That causes all kinds of security problems for each other as well as for the neighbors."

 

But Du Yueping, a Shanghai lawyer, says many such tenants are quiet white-collar workers.

 

"Most of them bring their own garbage downstairs, and they're willing to pay more for using public resources like elevators," Du said, adding that what city officials did at Twin River Bay was wrong. "There is no legal basis to crack down," he said.

 

Many residents, though, were happy with the raid.

 

"They tie up the elevator, throw trash everywhere and urinate all over," said Cao Guiping, 36, who with her husband and son moved to the complex a year ago. Cao said her family paid about $165,000 for the three-bedroom unit. Their units have since appreciated about 30%, she and other owners said, and they want to protect their investments.

 

On a recent night, the grounds of Twin River Bay were littered with trash. Red banners were hoisted throughout the complex. "Crack down on collective renting; return peace to homeowners," read one.

 

But there were signs that collective renting was still thriving. From outside, one could see balconies divided in halves and porches cluttered with appliances and furniture.

 

On the 17th floor of one tower, Dong Ming, 20, sat forlornly in a kitchen that had been converted into a bedroom, which he and a friend rent for $90 a month. Dong had come from Anhui province and works as a salesman for a securities firm. In good months, he said, he takes home as much as $400. His roommate works for a decorations company and supplements his income by selling Amway products.

 

Dong said he had lived in another collective rental a month ago but had to leave after it was raided. He said he slept in an Internet cafe that night and moved to another building the next day.

 

His room now has enough space for a large single bed, made of boards, that he shares with his roommate. There was a 13-inch TV supplied by the landlord. The walls were bare except for a meter that calculated his electricity use and two large newspaper ads for a new BMW. The floor was teeming with roaches.

 

Dong kept his head down as he talked. He showed no emotion except when asked about his plans. Then his eyes lighted up. "I want to buy my own apartment," he said. "That's my ultimate goal."

[GZBILL]

There are two sides to every coin. Though it's hard not to feel sorry for the difficult life facing migrant workers -- especially in China -- life's a bitch and they can always just stay home.

[rogerluli]

 

There are two sides to every coin. Though it's hard not to feel sorry for the difficult life facing migrant workers -- especially in China -- life's a bitch and they can always just stay home.

 

Wow you sure are a softie Bill...I have pictures of the hard-working, poorly-paid "guest" workers who built the 2 apartments we bought in China. From the few observations I could make I think they were treated pretty much like cattle by the construction managers. I only hope no one was injured in the construction but I guess I shouldn't care because there are always more where they came from...

[Don]

I wonder if much of this is driven by the china desire to base much of their information collection in the Huko and work collection. I do not know how many times Ping has had to get a letter from her work to get various pieces of information. Plus, to buy a home in other parts of china we work their her family and friends, since did not have local huko. China tries to track and regulate every one by this system. The migrants do not have local huko in Shanghai, so the local companies are not collecting and tracking personal information about each of thier employees. China is starting to worry about a national social security system and health care and many others big issues. Many of their current systems are set up completely on a local level. Migrant workers make this hard with china's current system.

Edited October 5, 2007 by Don (see edit history)

[rogerluli]

I wonder if much of this is driven by the china desire to base much of their information collection in the Huko and work collection. I do not know how many times Ping has had to get a letter from her work to get various pieces of information. Plus, to buy a home in other parts of china we work their her family and friends, since did not have local huko. China tries to track and regulate every one by this system. The migrants do not have local huko in Shanghai, so the local companies are not collecting and tracking personal information about each of thier employees. China is starting to worry about a national social security system and health care and many others big issues. Many of their current systems are set up completely on a local level. Migrant workers make this hard with china's current system.

 

I'm no expert on labor in China BUT from everything we saw when shopping for houses in Hainan and Yunnan, construction would not be possible without migrant workers. In Yuxi, Yunnan we were told that the workers were all from Sichuan because local people would not work for such low wages... I have read that the situation is much the same in all the large coastal cities as well.

[Don]

I wonder if much of this is driven by the china desire to base much of their information collection in the Huko and work collection. I do not know how many times Ping has had to get a letter from her work to get various pieces of information. Plus, to buy a home in other parts of china we work their her family and friends, since did not have local huko. China tries to track and regulate every one by this system. The migrants do not have local huko in Shanghai, so the local companies are not collecting and tracking personal information about each of thier employees. China is starting to worry about a national social security system and health care and many others big issues. Many of their current systems are set up completely on a local level. Migrant workers make this hard with china's current system.

 

I'm no expert on labor in China BUT from everything we saw when shopping for houses in Hainan and Yunnan, construction would not be possible without migrant workers. In Yuxi, Yunnan we were told that the workers were all from Sichuan because local people would not work for such low wages... I have read that the situation is much the same in all the large coastal cities as well.

 

Sichuan has their own issues. They ahve a huge poplulation of people not on anyone's huko. Many of the woman and some men were never listed on their parents huko. Thus, china has no record of these people. The men and woman work all over china in areas where they can get cash pay. That is how many of the families in Sichuan got around the one child policy. These woman and men can not have normal jobs, since as we talked about above the work controls the information and that is tracked by the local registration or Huko.

 

No Huko No work! Unless you go underground.

[rogerluli]

I wonder if much of this is driven by the china desire to base much of their information collection in the Huko and work collection. I do not know how many times Ping has had to get a letter from her work to get various pieces of information. Plus, to buy a home in other parts of china we work their her family and friends, since did not have local huko. China tries to track and regulate every one by this system. The migrants do not have local huko in Shanghai, so the local companies are not collecting and tracking personal information about each of thier employees. China is starting to worry about a national social security system and health care and many others big issues. Many of their current systems are set up completely on a local level. Migrant workers make this hard with china's current system.

 

I'm no expert on labor in China BUT from everything we saw when shopping for houses in Hainan and Yunnan, construction would not be possible without migrant workers. In Yuxi, Yunnan we were told that the workers were all from Sichuan because local people would not work for such low wages... I have read that the situation is much the same in all the large coastal cities as well.

 

Sichuan has their own issues. They ahve a huge poplulation of people not on anyone's huko. Many of the woman and some men were never listed on their parents huko. Thus, china has no record of these people. The men and woman work all over china in areas where they can get cash pay. That is how many of the families in Sichuan got around the one child policy. These woman and men can not have normal jobs, since as we talked about above the work controls the information and that is tracked by the local registration or Huko.

 

No Huko No work! Unless you go underground.

 

One of the Sichuan women working at the development in Yunnan carrying baskets of sand on her back was also sheperding along her 2 children...the construction manager who was touring us around said she had another "in the oven"...

[Don]

I wonder if much of this is driven by the china desire to base much of their information collection in the Huko and work collection. I do not know how many times Ping has had to get a letter from her work to get various pieces of information. Plus, to buy a home in other parts of china we work their her family and friends, since did not have local huko. China tries to track and regulate every one by this system. The migrants do not have local huko in Shanghai, so the local companies are not collecting and tracking personal information about each of thier employees. China is starting to worry about a national social security system and health care and many others big issues. Many of their current systems are set up completely on a local level. Migrant workers make this hard with china's current system.

 

I'm no expert on labor in China BUT from everything we saw when shopping for houses in Hainan and Yunnan, construction would not be possible without migrant workers. In Yuxi, Yunnan we were told that the workers were all from Sichuan because local people would not work for such low wages... I have read that the situation is much the same in all the large coastal cities as well.

 

Sichuan has their own issues. They ahve a huge poplulation of people not on anyone's huko. Many of the woman and some men were never listed on their parents huko. Thus, china has no record of these people. The men and woman work all over china in areas where they can get cash pay. That is how many of the families in Sichuan got around the one child policy. These woman and men can not have normal jobs, since as we talked about above the work controls the information and that is tracked by the local registration or Huko.

 

No Huko No work! Unless you go underground.

 

One of the Sichuan women working at the development in Yunnan carrying baskets of sand on her back was also sheperding along her 2 children...the construction manager who was touring us around said she had another "in the oven"...

 

 

 

The population of Sichuan is much higher than offical numbers. China still has the one child laws. I am always amazed by the difference in the offical number and the estimated real number for these populations. Cities like Shanghai has 5 to 3 million more people than the offical estimates.

[GZBILL]

 

There are two sides to every coin. Though it's hard not to feel sorry for the difficult life facing migrant workers -- especially in China -- life's a bitch and they can always just stay home.

 

Wow you sure are a softie Bill...I have pictures of the hard-working, poorly-paid "guest" workers who built the 2 apartments we bought in China. From the few observations I could make I think they were treated pretty much like cattle by the construction managers. I only hope no one was injured in the construction but I guess I shouldn't care because there are always more where they came from... B)

 

It's called supply & demand. If they don't want to work hard, I suppose they could have stayed home and plowed the fields. Nobody's holding a gun to their head and forcing them to build your apartments.

 

Oh, I guess our definitions of "hard-working" also vary. A person who works hard also does a quality job. Even in high-end units, not much quality to be found these days.

 

In America, in China, in Europe ... anywhere you can imagine ... life's a bitch.

[rogerluli]

 

There are two sides to every coin. Though it's hard not to feel sorry for the difficult life facing migrant workers -- especially in China -- life's a bitch and they can always just stay home.

 

Wow you sure are a softie Bill...I have pictures of the hard-working, poorly-paid "guest" workers who built the 2 apartments we bought in China. From the few observations I could make I think they were treated pretty much like cattle by the construction managers. I only hope no one was injured in the construction but I guess I shouldn't care because there are always more where they came from...

 

It's called supply & demand. If they don't want to work hard, I suppose they could have stayed home and plowed the fields. Nobody's holding a gun to their head and forcing them to build your apartments.

 

Oh, I guess our definitions of "hard-working" also vary. A person who works hard also does a quality job. Even in high-end units, not much quality to be found these days.

 

In America, in China, in Europe ... anywhere you can imagine ... life's a bitch.

 

Okay I'll leave the woman with 2 1/2 children to her fate... but what of China? I have seen it described that the urban underclass is one of the major threats to the internal stability of China, ranking right up there with the environment and corrupt officials. If these millions in every major city cannot now find decent affordable housing then what happens when the next economic downturn hits and they have no jobs either? I think the picture could turn very ugly... in America and Europe there is a safety net but in China it is definitely every person for themselves. Will you be happy living in a dog-eat-dog China?

[Don]

 

Okay I'll leave the woman with 2 1/2 children to her fate... but what of China? I have seen it described that the urban underclass is one of the major threats to the internal stability of China, ranking right up there with the environment and corrupt officials. If these millions in every major city cannot now find decent affordable housing then what happens when the next economic downturn hits and they have no jobs either? I think the picture could turn very ugly... in America and Europe there is a safety net but in China it is definitely every person for themselves. Will you be happy living in a dog-eat-dog China?

 

 

 

Another part of this is the man to woman ratio is out of balence. Many of the poor are men with no chance of finding a wife. Many of the large construction projects that China had on going were partially designed to keep the poor men out of cities were they could cause trouble. They took a million very poor men out of the cities to build the high altitude railroad to Tibet and the Damn. They held a lot of thier pay till the end, so the workers could go back to their city or village with a wad of cash to get set up adn maybe find a wife. China is very worried about their working poor men banding together and causing unrest in the big cities. I am sure we will hear of another big project to keep millions of poor men out of the cities soon. Sort of like our CCC projects during the 30s.

[DMikeS4321]

 

Okay I'll leave the woman with 2 1/2 children to her fate... but what of China? I have seen it described that the urban underclass is one of the major threats to the internal stability of China, ranking right up there with the environment and corrupt officials. If these millions in every major city cannot now find decent affordable housing then what happens when the next economic downturn hits and they have no jobs either? I think the picture could turn very ugly... in America and Europe there is a safety net but in China it is definitely every person for themselves. Will you be happy living in a dog-eat-dog China?

 

As most here know (if they read my posts) I love China and her people, but the only reason things work there is the Chinese ethic of keeping one's head down and moving forward. "Harmony" is as much a part of Chinese culture as "Saving Face", but... that can only go so far.

 

People need to live and they need to work to live. I trust in the native intelligence and ingenuity of these people, but things will get much worse before they get better. Hopefully, something can be done to address these problems. Why else HAVE a central government if they are unwilling/unable to deal with this stuff?

 

Asia (and the rest of the world) will NOT be a happy place with one billion angry Chinese on the loose.

[Don]

 

Okay I'll leave the woman with 2 1/2 children to her fate... but what of China? I have seen it described that the urban underclass is one of the major threats to the internal stability of China, ranking right up there with the environment and corrupt officials. If these millions in every major city cannot now find decent affordable housing then what happens when the next economic downturn hits and they have no jobs either? I think the picture could turn very ugly... in America and Europe there is a safety net but in China it is definitely every person for themselves. Will you be happy living in a dog-eat-dog China?

 

As most here know (if they read my posts) I love China and her people, but the only reason things work there is the Chinese ethic of keeping one's head down and moving forward. "Harmony" is as much a part of Chinese culture as "Saving Face", but... that can only go so far.

 

People need to live and they need to work to live. I trust in the native intelligence and ingenuity of these people, but things will get much worse before they get better. Hopefully, something can be done to address these problems. Why else HAVE a central government if they are unwilling/unable to deal with this stuff?

 

Asia (and the rest of the world) will NOT be a happy place with one billion angry Chinese on the loose.

 

 

 

I agree with you, I think that they have a strong need for harmony and will work hard to make things work. China is a great place and i feel they will find their path forward. I hope no one ever looks at anything i write and think i am down on china. I try to keep things very dry so it seems just like an analysis with no agenda except to understand. i hope others feel free and add their two cents worth. I am always hoping to learn more.

[chilton747]

 

Okay I'll leave the woman with 2 1/2 children to her fate... but what of China? I have seen it described that the urban underclass is one of the major threats to the internal stability of China, ranking right up there with the environment and corrupt officials. If these millions in every major city cannot now find decent affordable housing then what happens when the next economic downturn hits and they have no jobs either? I think the picture could turn very ugly... in America and Europe there is a safety net but in China it is definitely every person for themselves. Will you be happy living in a dog-eat-dog China?

 

As most here know (if they read my posts) I love China and her people, but the only reason things work there is the Chinese ethic of keeping one's head down and moving forward. "Harmony" is as much a part of Chinese culture as "Saving Face", but... that can only go so far.

 

People need to live and they need to work to live. I trust in the native intelligence and ingenuity of these people, but things will get much worse before they get better. Hopefully, something can be done to address these problems. Why else HAVE a central government if they are unwilling/unable to deal with this stuff?

 

Asia (and the rest of the world) will NOT be a happy place with one billion angry Chinese on the loose.

 

 

 

I agree with you, I think that they have a strong need for harmony and will work hard to make things work. China is a great place and i feel they will find their path forward. I hope no one ever looks at anything i write and think i am down on china. I try to keep things very dry so it seems just like an analysis with no agenda except to understand. i hope others feel free and add their two cents worth. I am always hoping to learn more.

The people of China have endured great hardships in their lives like many others all around the world. China is special to us because we choose it to be special to us. You and I can't even begin to imagine the kind of life that many poor people go through. Yes, life is a bitch!!! But people have a right to have hope. People in China have a right to work. It is human nature to want harmony, peace, and love. I too am hoping to learn more. I am in the midst of watching "China a Century of Revolution." Roger you have probably seen this. What an education this is to see this documentary. My wife did not want me to see this as she fears I would think negatively about China. Man, was she wrong It brings even greater passon in my heart for the people of China and what they have endured.

[Don]

 

Okay I'll leave the woman with 2 1/2 children to her fate... but what of China? I have seen it described that the urban underclass is one of the major threats to the internal stability of China, ranking right up there with the environment and corrupt officials. If these millions in every major city cannot now find decent affordable housing then what happens when the next economic downturn hits and they have no jobs either? I think the picture could turn very ugly... in America and Europe there is a safety net but in China it is definitely every person for themselves. Will you be happy living in a dog-eat-dog China?

 

As most here know (if they read my posts) I love China and her people, but the only reason things work there is the Chinese ethic of keeping one's head down and moving forward. "Harmony" is as much a part of Chinese culture as "Saving Face", but... that can only go so far.

 

People need to live and they need to work to live. I trust in the native intelligence and ingenuity of these people, but things will get much worse before they get better. Hopefully, something can be done to address these problems. Why else HAVE a central government if they are unwilling/unable to deal with this stuff?

 

Asia (and the rest of the world) will NOT be a happy place with one billion angry Chinese on the loose.

 

 

 

I agree with you, I think that they have a strong need for harmony and will work hard to make things work. China is a great place and i feel they will find their path forward. I hope no one ever looks at anything i write and think i am down on china. I try to keep things very dry so it seems just like an analysis with no agenda except to understand. i hope others feel free and add their two cents worth. I am always hoping to learn more.

The people of China have endured great hardships in their lives like many others all around the world. China is special to us because we choose it to be special to us. You and I can't even begin to imagine the kind of life that many poor people go through. Yes, life is a bitch!!! But people have a right to have hope. People in China have a right to work. It is human nature to want harmony, peace, and love. I too am hoping to learn more. I am in the midst of watching "China a Century of Revolution." Roger you have probably seen this. What an education this is to see this documentary. My wife did not want me to see this as she fears I would think negatively about China. Man, was she wrong It brings even greater passon in my heart for the people of China and what they have endured.

 

 

 

I really think that knowing some thing and seeking to understand some one or some event make it very hard not to feel some compassion or something for them. In the Speaker for the dead, books by Orson Scott Card, we learn that even very evil people has a side that we can feel a lose. I do not think we should hide from ugly events, but we need to know them and seek understanding. Only in that understanding can we find love and way to prevent those bad events from repeating. Hopefully, we find out how to keep the good events rolling forward.