Join the public-rental-housing queue if you have housing difficulties
You must meet the local housing, income, and asset conditions. Migrant workers must also meet the required period of stable local employment. Local authorities publish waiting periods. This will not solve tonight’s housing problem, but applying costs nothing and starts the process sooner.
What it takes
Applying is free. Submit documents to the city or county housing-security department and consent in writing to verification. If documents are missing, the department should tell you in one notification what to add. The published waiting period is generally no more than five years under the cited framework.
What you may gain
Applicants must have no local home or less housing space than the prescribed standard, and income and assets below the local limits. Applicants working away from their home area must also have been steadily employed locally for the required period. Municipal and city or county housing departments set and publish the details. Once an applicant is registered on the waiting list, the department should allocate housing within the applicable waiting period. This is a national framework introduced in 2012; eligibility thresholds and rents are local.
Context & considerations
Public rental housing is a longer-term option, not an immediate shelter. Applying is free, so start early. Localities may also offer other forms of subsidized rental housing with different rules; check the local housing department’s website.
Research & references
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (2012). Public Rental Housing Management Measures, Order 11, Articles 7, 8, and 10. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2012/content_2226147.htm.