New regulation cannot solve mess in rent market

The Beijing municipal government issued a regulation that requires a minimum of 5 square meter's living space for every person in an apartment. But that regulation alone cannot end the mess of the rent market, said a comment in Xinhua Daily Telegraph (excerpts below).

After a recent report revealed that 25 people were jammed into an 80-square-meter apartment in Beijing, the municipal government on July 18issued a regulation that requires that every person should have at least 5 square meters' living space. It also stated that no more than two people should share a bedroom.

Maybe the government is really trying to do something to solve the mess of the rent market in Beijing.

The "Ant Group", namely graduates with low incomes who have to crowd into an apartment often with a dozen strangers, has suffered enough and the government needs to perform its duty in protecting them.

The regulation alone cannot solve the problems. Everybody knows how bad it can be to share a room with 10 people, but many "ants" have no other option.

So one is naive to expect the situation to get better quickly. The government needs to take more measures, like raising incomes, strictly supervise illegal agencies, as well as building more cheaper apartments.