A survey showed that 82.1 percent of respondents feel financial pressure from renting apartments, with 22.2 percent "heavily burdened."
Surveying 2,002 young people renting houses aged from 18 to 35, the China Youth Daily found 20.7 percent of respondents spend at least half of their incomes on rent every month, 55.5 percent spend one-third, and 23.8 percent spend one-quarter and below.
Respondents said irregular rent rises by rental intermediaries or principal tenants (53.4 percent), housing facilities maintenance (44.1 percent) and difficulties in distinguishing misleading information online (41 percent) were the top three factors causing rental market chaos.
A report at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China stressed that "housing is for living in, not speculation." China is moving faster to create a housing system that ensures supply through multiple sources, provides housing support through multiple channels, and encourages both housing purchases and renting.
"China's real estate market is in major transition," Hu Zhigang, vice president of China Real Estate Association, told the paper. "We should accelerate efforts to amend laws and regulations on the lease of houses, and clarify the rights and interests of tenants so as to ensure the same legal protection for tenants as apartment owners."
Most respondents believe public rental houses are a good choice to ease their economic burden. A total of 93.3 percent of respondents expect lower requirements for applying for public rental houses, and 57.9 percent say they look forward to a better housing-lease platform set up by the government.
