发放租房券缓解大城市新市民住房困难:理论基础、国际经验与政策构想

Issuing Rental Vouchers to Relieve Housing Difficulties of New Citizens in Big Cities:Theoretical Basis,International Experiences and Policy Conception

新市民的住房保障直接影响到城市的活力与发展。源自美国的租房券,是住房短缺状况缓解后的租赁支持政策:通过发放住房消费券,让中低收入者搬进“基本体面”且可负担的住房。相比于住房实物补贴和现金补贴,租房券能更好地改善中低收入家庭的住房福利。在制度安排上,租房券补贴直接支付给房东,数额为家庭可负担的合理租金上限与公平市值租金间的差额,参与租房券计划的租赁房质量须符合特定的设计与安全标准。从政策效果看,租房券显著降低了参与家庭的住房负担,有利于改善其居住环境、分散贫困和提升人力资本。我们认为,将租房券引入中国的时机已经成熟。创造性地探索为符合条件的新市民发放租房券,有望更好地盘活存量房源、增加合意的租赁住房供应,提升租住品质。不妨率先在住房供过于求或总体平衡的城市试点发放租房券,住房总体短缺的城市可在增加租赁住房供应的基础上适当发放租房券。短期内可将用于住房实物补贴的存量资金转为租房券补贴,未来的增量补贴则应以租房券为主,从而实现住房补贴政策的渐进式结构性转变。各地租房券具体的申请资格、支付标准,应由地方政府根据各地实际情况来决定,还应加强租房券监测与评估,在实践中动态优化租房券政策。

Housing security of new citizens directly affects the vitality and development of the city wherethey live.Issuing rental vouchers,which are originated from the United States,is a rentalsupport policy after the housing shortage has been alleviated:low-and middle-income citizenscan move into“basically decent”and affordable housing with the subsidy of housingconsumption vouchers.Compared with housing in-kind subsidies and cash subsidies,rentalvouchers can better improve housing benefits for low-and middle-income families.The rentalvoucher subsidy is paid directly to the landlord,and the amount is the gap between thereasonable rent cap that the family can afford and the fair market rent.The quality of the rentalhousing participating in the program must meet specific design and safety standards.Rentalvouchers significantly reduce the housing burden of participating families,which is conduciveto improving their living environment,dispersing poverty and promoting human capital.Thisarticle argues that it is the time to introduce rental voucher system into China.Issuing rentalvouchers to qualified new citizens is expected to better use the stock of houses,and increasethe supply and quality of desirable rental housing.It is better to issue the rental vouchers incities with an oversupply of housing or in an overall balance as a pilot,and cities with an overall shortage of housing can appropriately issue rental vouchers on the basis of increasingthe supply of rental housing.In the short term,the stock funds used for housing in-kindsubsidies can be converted into rental voucher subsidies,and future incremental subsidiesshould be dominated by rental vouchers,so as to achieve a structural change in the housingsubsidy policy.The specific application qualifications and payment standards for rentalvouchers in various places should be determined by the local government in accordance withlocal conditions.It is also necessary to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of the rentalvoucher system to dynamically improve the policy.