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Such a complicated matter is naturally difficult to explain in a few words on social media, so it is not surprising that it caused a huge wave of public opinion.

Written by Ren Dagang

Recently, public opinion was in an uproar over the "housing pension", and people were worried that this was a disguised form of property tax. Relevant experts said through the China Construction News under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development that "there is no need for the people to pay additional maintenance funds outside the current system."

However, in the early morning of August 26, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development's directly affiliated journal "Architecture Magazine" published an editorial on its official WeChat public account titled "Housing pension is not real estate tax, public accounts do not require ordinary people to pay, stop misinterpreting!" It stated that the housing pension system that was mentioned many times by the authorities as early as 2022 to be studied and established has been seriously misinterpreted.

The article also points out that housing pensions and real estate taxes are two completely different things.The rumor that housing pension is another kind of real estate tax is purely confusing and far-fetched. It is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.

This is an interesting communication case in the era of fragmented information.

01

Take the renovation of our community as an example

The residential complex where I live was built as a commercial housing complex in 1997. At the time, it was called “export housing,” implying that it was sold to people outside the country. Therefore, the construction quality was quite good and it once won the “Lu Ban Award,” the highest award in the construction industry.

But after more than 20 years, our community has become seriously ill.

First of all, the white tiles on the exterior walls have become mottled after being exposed to the sun and rain for a long time. In addition, the cement has weathered and the wall surface has hollowed out. When it rains heavily, the exterior walls, especially near the windows, generally seep water. Some residents took the opportunity of renovation to waterproof the exterior walls and apply waterproof paint, making the exterior walls even more mottled.

The second problem is the aging of pipes. All old water and gas pipes have been replaced, and some pipes are exposed on the exterior walls. It is impossible to replace the rainwater and sewage pipes as a whole, so each household can only replace them separately during renovation. As for the underground pipe network, it is even more unimaginable. I don’t know where the rainwater and sewage flow to.

Secondly, parking is difficult, the roads in the community are seriously damaged, the greening is very far-fetched, and there is no aesthetic appeal at all.

In addition, the elevators in residential buildings are not only old and dilapidated, but also in disrepair and suffer from constant malfunctions.

Photo/VCG

What is more serious is that when the above problems occurred, the property management committee had been absent for several years.The community maintenance fund is barely enough to repair the elevator, with only about 1 million yuan left. According to regulations, it can no longer be moved and is only one step away from bankruptcy.

Under the advocacy of enthusiastic residents, the property management committee was re-established. They did not receive any remuneration and sorted out various difficult and complicated problems in the community, solving some problems that could be solved without financial effort. However, there are many difficulties to make a more thorough change, and the biggest difficulty is lack of money.

Just at this time, a good opportunity arose. The community was included in the district government's renovation plan for old communities. According to calculations, more than 30 million yuan could be invested in exterior wall waterproofing painting, roof waterproofing, road repairs, underground pipeline re-laying, monitoring facilities, fire-fighting facilities, etc., and residents would not have to pay for it.

Even if such a good thing happens, it is actually full of difficulties.The voting results of various engineering projects cannot ensure that everyone agrees and satisfies everyone. Even the convenience ramps at the entrance of residential buildings have some people raised objections. To date, there is still a residential building with a convenience ramp that has not been built.

In short, after the unremitting efforts of the property management committee, the renovation was finally completed after more than a year. From the appearance, the community is much neater and cleaner, and there is basically no need to worry about water seepage on the walls.

Not only our community, but several old communities in the surrounding area are also undergoing renovation and reconstruction.

02

Who cares about the policy basis?

This policy, which brings practical benefits to old communities, is based on the "Guiding Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Comprehensively Promoting the Renovation of Old Urban Communities" (Guobanfa [2020] No. 23) (hereinafter referred to as the "Guiding Opinions"). Interested friends can find it and take a look at it themselves.

But I noticed that in this debate about "housing pension", even in a serious discussion, almost no one mentioned this document issued by the State Council in 2020. It is really strange.This shows how impetuous public opinion is.

If you search further, you can find that many places have issued corresponding implementation measures. The source of funds that the public is most concerned about is the transformation plan of a certain district in a certain city in 2024, which I searched for, as follows:

The funds for the comprehensive renovation of old residential areas are borne by the district and town finances, and the municipal finance will provide subsidies in accordance with relevant policies. In addition to the municipal subsidies, the renovation funds for directly managed public housing and system public housing are borne by the district finance, and the renovation funds for other houses are borne by the district and town in proportion, specifically: the streets are borne by the district finance; in addition to the municipal funding subsidies, the remaining renovation funds within the control unit price of ** Town, ** Town, ** Town, ** Town, ** Town are borne by the district and town at a ratio of 5:5, and the four towns of ** Town, ** Town, ** Town, ** Town are borne by the district and town at a ratio of 8:2. The renovation costs exceeding the control unit price are borne in full by each town.

In other words, individuals and families do not have to bear the cost of raising funds for renovation.

Picture/TuChong Creative

Not only are megacities renovating old neighborhoods, but a prefecture-level city in the western region with an underdeveloped economy is also renovating old neighborhoods. The news report is as follows:

As an important part of urban renewal, from 2019 to 2022, a total of 149 old communities in the city were included in the renovation plan, involving 100,000 households; this year, it is planned to renovate 36 old communities, involving nearly 23,000 households.

There is no information on personal investment in the renovation of old residential areas that can be found at present.

However, in the "Guidance Opinions", there is indeed a statement that residents should bear the cost of renovation:

According to the principle of "whoever benefits, whoever pays", we should actively encourage residents to invest in the renovation, which can be implemented through direct investment, use (reconstruction, continued fundraising) of special housing maintenance funds, transfer of community public income, etc. We should study ways to use special housing maintenance funds for the renovation of old urban communities.

Support community residents to withdraw housing provident funds for self-occupied housing renovations such as installing elevators. Encourage residents to support renovations by donating money, materials, and labor. Encourage residents in need to carry out indoor renovations or decoration and home appliance upgrades in conjunction with community renovations.

According to this statement, there is an option of "resident investment", but the investment methods can be diversified.

03

Why is public opinion so messy?

There is a newly built community across the road from our community. During the peak period, the housing prices were once driven up to 150,000 yuan per square meter, but the prices in our community were cut in half, which made the residents very angry.

After learning that more than 30 million yuan was invested in the renovation, everyone was delighted and thought that the price of the house could be raised.In other words, through renovation, the value of the property can be increased.

But if we follow the principle of "whoever benefits, pays" stipulated in the "Guiding Opinions", then the residents of our community should pay part of the cost of the renovation. However, in fact, we did not do so, and instead we took a lot of "benefits".

How should we understand this matter?

In 2020, when the "Guiding Opinions" were issued, various hidden dangers in old residential communities began to be exposed. Although China's economy has entered an epidemic state, its high-speed growth momentum has not diminished. Although the "Guiding Opinions" left a loophole of "residents' investment", local governments generally still have sufficient financial resources to carry out the renovation of old communities - it would be great if you personally invest, but if you don't invest and just take advantage, I also have the financial resources to treat you to a meal and promote this matter.

However, the unexpected economic adjustment has put many local governments under financial pressure. Except for a few local governments with strong financial resources, some places that used to be generous are now financially strapped.It is very likely that the "resident contribution" financing method, which has been frozen in fact, will be activated.

This is the background of the "housing pension" argument: since it is a "pension", it does not exclude the requirement of "residents' contributions". As for "housing physical examinations" and housing insurance, they are all minor details.

Picture/TuChong Creative

Based on our community renovation experience, when it is possible to take advantage, it is difficult to reach a consensus. When residents' income expectations are declining, "residents' funding" is a major hurdle.Because one has to invest real money, it is even more difficult to reach a consensus.

As for how to promote the renovation of old communities next, who knows?

Such a complicated matter is naturally difficult to explain in a few words on social media, so it is not surprising that it caused a huge wave of public opinion.

Nowadays, people have neither the patience to understand the plight of old neighborhoods nor the patience to read official documents on how to solve the plight; neither the patience to observe the renovation work that has been carried out nor the patience to discuss what to do next; neither the patience to discuss the rationality of the operating mechanism nor the patience to discuss its fairness and efficiency.

The whole incident was a mess, with little rational discussion, and the only solution was to "refute the rumor", leaving the parties involved in a passive position. This is a typical public opinion ecology nowadays.