Visiting Public Rental Housing Communities in Lianyuan, Hunan Province: Five to six hundred households have been vacated and will be allocated through another lottery

Recently, a centralized rectification of "public officials illegally occupying public rental housing" has attracted much attention in Lianyuan, a county-level city in Hunan Province. According to previous reports from Southern Weekly, CCTV, and other media outlets, 766 public officials have been identified in four public rental housing communities in Lianyuan and will be vacated in the near future.

On December 1st, a reporter from Poster News visited the public rental housing community involved to investigate the aftermath of the "evacuation of public officials" incident.

Public rental communities in the 'eviction storm': Recently, there have been daily moves for over a month

Lianyuan City, Hunan Province, is surrounded by mountains on three sides and was once known as the "hometown of building materials" and "hometown of non-ferrous metals" due to its abundant mineral resources. While the mountains bring mineral resources to Lianyuan, they also 'trap' it. This area was once listed as a severely impoverished contiguous area of Wuling Mountain and a provincial-level poverty-stricken county and city, but still has no high-speed rail or high-speed trains.

As a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Hunan Province, Lianyuan City is managed by Loudi City. According to the public information released by the Lianyuan Integrated Media Center, on the evening of October 25, 2023, members of the 11th Inspection Group of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee emphasized again at the Lianyuan Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee meeting that for the issue of public rental housing that has been strongly reflected and highly concerned by the public, we must take concrete actions and steadily promote the rectification of the problem.

According to a report by CCTV, the statistical table shows that 878 public officials were screened for entry and exit in four public rental housing communities in Lianyuan, in addition to 4 public officials who moved into public housing units, totaling 882 households, including 28 public officials at or above the rank of chief clerk. After verification, the actual number was 766 households. Several public officials in Lianyuan have stated that those on this list will be removed by the end of November.

Announcement posted in Lianyuan Public Rental Housing Community

The four public rental housing communities involved are Runzhong Community, Runyuan Public Rental Housing, Runze Garden, and Huimin Community. Among them, the Runyuan public rental housing community has older houses, the Runshuyuan community has newer but more remote houses, the Huimin community has newer houses and a more suitable location, and the Runzhong community has become the public rental housing community with the most public officials due to its newer houses and better location.

On the noon of December 1st, the reporter arrived at Runzhong Community, which has more than 2000 houses. The residential buildings, including garages, are 7 stories high, with room types ranging from over 50 square meters to over 70 square meters. There are red banners hanging in multiple places within the community to crack down on illegal use of public rental housing and subletting and lending of public rental housing. A room not far from the entrance has been set up as a "check-out procedure processing office". A notice from the Lianyuan Housing Security Service Center is posted in front and behind the residential building: "The Municipal Party Committee and Government are carrying out clean-up and rectification of the illegal use of public rental housing. Relevant units, organizations, and individuals are welcome to report to our center the situation of illegal rental of public rental housing (including actual occupancy through lending, subleasing, reselling, etc.). Once verified, the reported units, organizations, and individuals will be rewarded with 500 yuan/time." The notice was signed on October 31st.

Ms. Wang, a resident in her 50s, said that her original property was dilapidated and she was unable to move in. After filling out an application to the community, she selected a 50 square meter house in Runzhong Community through a lottery at Lianyuan Hotel in the second half of 2018. "There were many people who came for the lottery, thousands of people," she said

In 2018, Runzhong Community conducted a public lottery for allocation and occupancy

Ms. Wang recalled that in 2019, the community opened for occupancy, and the annual rent for houses varied by floor and size, ranging from a few hundred yuan to over two thousand yuan. The annual rent for a self built 80 square meter two bedroom, one living room, unfurnished house near the community is over 3000 yuan. Public rental housing is simply decorated and does not have anti-theft nets installed except for the first floor. Many of the later residents installed anti-theft nets themselves, and some even laid flooring and replaced smart door locks outside their homes, "Ms. Wang led the reporter on a tour.

On the noon of December 1st, three or four residents in Runzhong community were moving. The movers crawled out of the window with half their bodies and carefully removed the anti-theft net that had no signs of use. They bought it for 150 yuan and took it away. The reporter wandered around the Runzhong District and roughly estimated the number of residents who had moved out of a building based on the dismantling marks of the anti-theft net and the empty balconies. Half of our building has moved this month. Previously, the empty space downstairs was filled with cars during the day, but now it's all empty, "said a resident with children downstairs.

On December 1st, multiple households in Runzhong Community have been vacated

There were already signs of 'retreat'.

Ms. Wang recalled that around May of this year, government officials came to the community to investigate the situation of households one by one. "Three people came in and asked about their marital and property status. In November, many people started moving, and now there are daily demolitions, renovations, and moves

The wave of eviction in Runze Garden, another public rental community, has basically subsided. Runzeyuan Community is close to Loulian Highway, with many large trucks nearby, making transportation inconvenient. On the afternoon of December 1st, there were no more residents moving in the Runze Garden community, only red notices from the Lianyuan Housing Security Service Center were posted below each building.

Yang Hui (pseudonym), who has lived in Runze Garden for three or four years, introduced that when Runzhong Community was first built, she went to participate in a lottery, but failed to win. Soon, the more remote Runze Garden was built, and she and her husband moved into a house of over 80 square meters on the third floor of Runze Garden to live and have children.

The poster news reporter learned from Yang Hui and several other residents of Runze Garden that the layout of Runze Garden community is two bedrooms and one living room, and the size and floor of public rental housing are allocated by lottery. The rent also ranges from more than 2000 yuan to more than 3000 yuan per year. Runze Garden is very remote here, and it's not convenient to buy groceries. The annual property fee is over 300 yuan. You can also rent a house of similar size nearby for the same rent, but it may be a self built or old house, "Yang Hui said.

Yang Hui and several other residents expressed their approval for the "vacated public officials' households", saying, "This is originally a house for the common people. Public officials have housing provident fund, and they can buy their own houses

Latest response: After re cleaning, lottery allocation will be conducted again, and public officials cannot apply

In the comments that were widely praised, some people also left comments questioning whether the practice of "completely dismissing public officials" in Lianyuan public rental housing is a "one size fits all" approach, which is unfair to public officials from poor families who meet the lottery conditions.

Chen Yuan (pseudonym), a local resident of Lianyuan, has been undertaking moving business in Runzhong and Huimin communities since early November. "They are all public officials who have moved out. Some of them still have their own houses, while others do not have houses in Lianyuan. They spent tens of thousands of yuan renovating their public rental housing, and when they moved out, they pried off all the wooden floors they had laid

On December 1st, moving worker Wang Yi (pseudonym) just moved a Lianyuan public official's house in Runzhong Community. This public official put electronic products such as computer screens and printers into the Nissan car that came out, and put large items into Chen Yuan's small truck. They didn't live in their home for a few years after the renovation, and they even customized cabinets that they couldn't move away. My wife felt sorry and wanted to smash the cabinets, but she was persuaded by her husband, "Wang Yi said.

Personnel moving within the Runzhong community

Another client who left a deep impression on Wang Yi was a 50 year old public servant man living alone in Runzhong Community. The man lives on the seventh floor of the community. After being vacated, he asked workers to temporarily move all the furniture he could take away to the garage downstairs because he didn't have a house in Lianyuan. "There are no bathrooms or shower rooms in the garage, so I don't know how he lives. Sometimes I also think that they may just have a good job and their salary may not be much

On December 1st, in response to issues such as "the situation of public officials being vacated" and "the plan for handling vacated houses", the poster news reporter contacted the staff of the "check-out procedures processing office" in Runze Garden community. According to the introduction, there are currently five to six hundred households in all public rental housing communities that have been vacated. The vacated houses need to be cleaned up before they can be allocated to residents through lottery again.

Runzeyuan Community Check out Procedure Counter

On the afternoon of the 1st, a staff member from the Housing Security Center of Lianyuan City revealed that currently, those who have been vacated can apply for public rental housing from the community or street where their household registration is located. However, the number of vacant public rental housing units and the requirements for lottery personnel have not been determined yet. The office staff also provided the phone numbers of the relevant departments responsible for public rental housing work in the unit. On the evening of the 1st, the reporter called the department and learned that the relevant authorities in Lianyuan had just held a meeting in the afternoon to determine the conditions for applying for public rental housing. "Public officials are not allowed to apply for public rental housing, as long as they are paid by the government, they are considered public officials

On December 2nd, a staff member of a street office in Lianyuan City revealed to reporters that they will receive applications for public rental housing before November 20th, and none of the applications from public officials will be approved. "Public officials are not allowed to (apply for public rental housing), one size fits all

Source: Poster News