Our Affordable Housing Policy System

Housing is a basic human right and necessity. It has two properties: the property of commodity and the property of social security. In market economy, however, the law of value cannot guarantee the housing of each citizen. As the provision of housing for the middle and lower income brackets reflects social justice, it can ensure a stable development of society. So housing security is, like retirement and healthcare security, a necessary part of a nation's social security system.The beginning of 1998 witnessed a historical transformation in China's housing system from its traditionally welfare-based house distribution to commercial housing. Since then urban residents have begun to buy their homes from housing agencies on the market. Due to the defects in the market operation, however, the middle and lower income brackets' demand for housing remains unsatisfied. Most of them cannot afford the increasingly expensive housing and, therefore, are unlikely to improve their living conditions without the help of the government. Thus, urban housing security system came into existence, one of which was the Affordable Housing Policy. This policy has been effective in solving housing problems for the middle and lower income groups, but lots of other problems remain unsolved. Therefore, we need to re-consider the policy and look for a solution to these problems.This thesis is about the development of the Affordable Housing Policy in China. It first examines the contents and features of each stage of the policy development. Then it points out the merits and defects of the model of the affordable housing supply. Finally it proposes some possible operations in carrying out the Affordable Housing Policy in Shanghai, a metropolitan city with a big real estate market but a small average housing area.