Ups and Downs

It goes back to 2014.Taiwanese had accumulated much anger and resentment under the pressure of long-lasting high housing prices. Since 2001, housing prices in the country had tripled, but the average wage of Taiwanese workers had dropped to the level 15 years ago. On the night of October 4th, a group of “snails without shells” decided to march on the street. They gathered in front of the most well-known luxury residential complex in Taiwan-“The Palace” on Renai Road, using their action to express their long-existing dissatisfaction.

Source: The official Facebook Page of the Housing Movement

Time: The “sleep-out” protest on October 4th and 5th, 2014

Location: “The Palace” on Renai Road, Taipeii City (The most famous luxury residential complex in Taiwan)

“The Housing Movement” organized a 2-day long “sleep-out” protest on the 4th and 5th of October, 2014. More than 20 thousands young people camped out in front of the most expensive residential complex in Taipei, listening to the theme song of the Housing Movement “Will tomorrow be better?,” while the lyrics stated: ”Could snails without a shell move forward? Could we defend our homeless body against the wind and rain? Will tomorrow be a better day? I don’t know how to answer……” Such touching lyrics seem to express the thought of every participant.

On the evening of October 4th, they built “The People’s Palace,” showing their determination to change the current housing market, in which flipping properties is common. The spokesperson of the Housing Movement, Peng Yang-Kai, said that building the “The People’s Palace” is to emphasize how simple the wish of regular citizens is, who do not need a luxury mansion, but only a 75 square-meter apartment.

"The People’s Palace" is a mockery of the most expensive residential

complex in Taipei, “The Palace.”

The new Housing Movement continued the spirit of the historical “Snails without Shells” movement. In May 1989, faced with the unequal distribution of wealth caused by the soaring housing and land prices in Taiwan, and the situation that many people could not afford their own apartment, Lee Hsing-Chang, an elementary school teacher, called on his colleagues and friends and formed the “Rescue Association of People without Housing,” hoping to gather together the public to fight against the soaring housing prices. He also organized the significant protest taking place on August 26th, 1989, when 10,000 people camped out overnight on Zhongxiao E. Road

Feeling worried about their future, many young people participated in the Housing

Source: The official Facebook Page of the Housing Movement.

When the protest was over, members of the Snails without Shells movement established 3 organizations, including “The Alliance of People without Housing,” who continued to focus on the Snails without Shells movement, Tsuei Ma Foundation that provided people with housing rental service, and “The Organization of Urban Re-s (Ours),” who paid attention to issues related to urban development. After these years, The Alliance of People without Housing no longer exists, but both Tsuei Ma Foundation and Ours have not only continued to strive, becoming the main leading groups of the Housing Movement, but also inherited the emotional tie resulting from the housing justice movement in 1989.

　　

A comparison between Snails without Shells and The Housing Movement.

Source: OURs, graph created by Cheng Yu-Chia

　　

　

The Five Demands

The spokesperson of the Housing Movement, as well as the secretary-general of Ours,

Mr. Peng Yang-Kai introduces the five demands of the Housing Movement.

Incorporating housing rights into the constitution, and ending forced demolition and eviction

Incidents of forced eviction due to new development are common in Taiwan. New laws that protect people’s housing rights from being exploited should be drafted, so that every individual is entitled to reside somewhere safely, peacefully and with dignity. Meanwhile, any forced demolition and eviction that disobey this principle should be ended.

Associated Laws	Principles of Reform
Revisions of "Urban Planning Law" Drafting "Protection against Unreasonable Forced Eviction Act"	-Protecting the right of sufficient and appropriate housing (in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) -Realizing the democratic procedure of administrative hearings - It is necessary to provide a reasonable alternative housing plan

Reforming the property tax system, and curbing speculative investment

The soaring housing prices in Taiwan result from the large-scale speculative investment. As taxes on possessing a property are very low, it is easy for investors to flip properties, causing a huge wave of funding to flow into the real estate market without creating many employment opportunities. A tax reform that includes a joint tax on building and land sales(1) should be carried out while the rights of non-investors should be protected. Also, a high tax rate should be implemented on short-term flipping and property hoarding, in order to curb speculative investment.

(1) A joint tax on building and land sales: it refers to that, when selling a property, taxes should be calculated directly based on the a seller’s profit after deducting the purchase cost, legal fees and renovation cost. Compared to the current land value increment tax tax and house tax, a joint tax system is the goverment’s most useful weapon for cooling off the housing market.

Associated Laws	Principles of Reform
Revisions of property tax laws such as "The Equalization of Land Rights Act" Drafting"Real Estate Tax Law"	-A joint tax on building and land sales -Curbing property hoarding and short-term property flipping -Reducing impacts on most self-using, long-time owners

Reviwing public land regulations and terminating the construction of affordable housing

According to “Common Wealth Magazine,” among the 50 pieces of the most expensive public lands auctioned by the Taipei City government in 2010, 80% of them were either turned into large, luxurious apartments, or still under maintenance. The government should review and revise laws that regulate the sales, superficies(2) and urban planning of public lands. Also, the affordable housing project(3) that has involved abuses and corruption should be immediately terminated, so as to end the collusion between politicians and corporations.

(2) Superficies: referring to one’s right to use a land owned by other people because of erecting a building or carrying out other work on it.

(3)The Affordable Housing Project: It is a policy that Taiwanese government implemented in 2011 in order to solve the problem of high housing prices. The affordable houses were built by contractors recruited by the goverment, and were orginially public housing units that were to be sold to low-income families without own properties. However, due to the great profits generated in the real estate market, various corrupted practices have pervailed, and the project has become a collusion for profits between the poticians and corporations.

Associated Laws	Principles of Reform
Revisions of "The Housing Act", and reinforcing its filial laws	-Clearly stating the goal of 5% and governmental responsibilities -Forming a housing corporate -Ensuring a stable fianancial source (income resulting from the property tax reform) -Protecting minorities with a garanteed quota of 30%

Increasing the percentage of public housing to 5%, and establishing a housing corporate

The percentage of public housing in Taiwan right now is close to 0%. Taking other countries for example, public housing is a responsibility that the state should not avoid. The government should clearly set 5% of public housing as the nation’s development goal. In the meantime, in accordance with the reform of The Housing Act(4), a housing corporate should be formed, which would be responsible for making sure of the financial and land sources, public participation and protection of minorities.

(4) The Housing Act: The law should be drafted in order to create a healthy housing market, provide housing subsidies for minority communities, protect the just housing rights, improve life quality, and allow all citizens to live in an appropriate residency and a dignified environment.

Associated Laws	Principles of Reform
Revisions of public land related laws, such as "National Property Act"	-Making information about public lands accessible to the public -"Hearings" should be a legally requested procedure when dealing with public lands -Protecting the housing rights of the currently residing minorities

Expanding the rental market and dradting the “Residential Tenancies Act”

In Taiwan, as a healthy rental system does not exist, the quality of rented properties cannot be guaranteed, and therefore, renting often becomes an unwilling choice. As a result, the renting rate is Taiwan is only 1/3 of other countries. As the cost of maintaining a property is low, many property owners rather keep their properties empty than renting them out, causing a huge number of empty properties. The Housing Movement expects the legislature to draft “The Residential Tenancies Act”(5) , encouraging owners to rent out their properties, protecting the rights of both landlords and tenants, improving assistance for minorities, and making renting a dignified and reasonable choice of living.

(5)The Residential Tenancies Act：1.To protect the rights of both landlords and tenants, detailing the rights and obligations of both parties. 2.Keeping a record of the actual prices of rental properties, in order to properly monitor the rental market. 3.Encouraging private entities to design long-term rental apartments, and to develop associated professional services, so as to improve the quality of renting.

Associated Laws	Principles of Reform
Drafting "Residential Tenancies Act"	-Encouraging owners to rent out empty properties

　　

　

Housing Movement Groups

“Snails without Shells” was the social movement taking place on August 26th, 1989, initiated by the first social movement group that focused on urban reforms. The group organized a sleep-out on Renai Road, protesting against the unequal distribution of wealth caused by the high land and housing prices in Taiwan. The two most important member organizations of the “Snails without Shells” movement that have continued their work till today, namely, “Tsuei Ma Foundation” and “The Organization of Urban Re-s (Ours)” are also the main leading members of the new Housing Movement. Another 100 groups including “Taiwan Adequate Housing Association” also took part in this movement that campaigns for housing justice.

Tsuei Ma Foundation was founded after the Snails without Shells movement.

Together with OURs and The Alliance of People without Housing, both formed at the same time,

the three organizations have continued to work for the housing rights

demanded by the Snails without Shell movement.

2014 happened to be the 25th anniversary of the Snails without Shells movement, as well as the election year for 6 major cities. The Housing Movement therefore chose to express their long-contemplated plan and demands in this important year by organizing a sleep-out on Renai Road. The movement not only inherited the main spirit of Snails without Shells, which believed that “housing is a human right,” but also pursued to further realize housing justice by transforming the concept of “Home for every living”(1) to “Appropriate home for every living.”(2) (Home for every living: everyone could live in a property owned by him/herself. Appropriate home for every living: people could live in an appropriate property, even by renting.)

In fact, in addition to a social movement that had gathered various organizations and nearly 20, 000 participants on that day, the Housing Movement is also a large group that continues to pursue housing justice.

(1)Home for every living: everyone could live in a property owned by him/herself.

(2)Appropriate home for every living: people could live in an appropriate property, even by renting.

The Housing Movement is currently an alliance composed of 109 organizations,

and the number of participants is still increasing. Source: the official Facebook page of

the Housing Movement.World cloud generated by Lin Pei-Zhen

The Housing Movement has many members. In addition to Tsuei Ma Foundation, OURs, and Taiwan Adequate Housing Association, whom we interviewed, there are another 191 groups and organizations involved, including Social Housing Advocacy Consortium, The Alliance for Fair Tax in Taiwan, Housing Reform Alliance, 393 Citizen Platform, and Snails without Shells Alliance.

Within such a extensive network, some organizations are responsible for strategic planning, some provide a internent platform for the public to discuss issues related to the housing market, while some advocate for the implementation of social housing policies. The Housing Movement not only organized the sleep-out on Renai Road on October 4th, it will also continue to pay attention to and pursue housing justice. Concerned about the future housing situation, they do not give up any hope, but seek to do their best on advocate to the goverment and to raise more awareness of this issue.