Can foreigners live in social housing in Taiwan?

Recently I looked a a room that was for rent in a social housing apartment in New Taipei.

Is it legal for me to live there as someone who is not Taiwanese? I am from Australia btw.

It was an apartment which is part of the Banqiao Social housing complex at 180 Lequn rd. in Banqiao district, New Taipei City 220.

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Logically your resident status would likely be most important. As an actual resident of taiwan i would hope there are aome limited options. But as a foreign citizen i have doubts youre eligable. But interested to see how it plays out.

Sometimes taiwan surprises us. Like with NHI and bribing the exonomy stimulus packages taiwan has given these to foreign residents of taiwan. Which is very nice

The landlord seemed dodgy.
How can I report his address to the government to see if he is breaking the law?

He may be making a killing of a foreigners and taking away an apartment from a low income Taiwanese family that actually needs it.

He is renting out rooms in a building that appears to be for lower income Taiwanese families.

Thanks for the reply btw.

This isnt legal advice. Its safety advice.

Dont stir the pot unleas you have means of protecting yourself from the splash of boiling water.

Get proof first, then go to the gov. If you ask the gov here to find something illegal you are not only pissing off the boss, youre annoying the gov and they arent so keen on confidentiality here.

I would tread lightly, collect evidence then release it to the public anonymously.

Chairs, rope and zteong acid are all very easily bought here. This teio isnt a fun combination if youre the one in the chair. There are more than a few fpreigners who have gotten taught not to get too nosy.

Be safe buddy, if he is big and playing that game through gov funds he is likely not that moral a person and also likely has some not too moral friends and ways of teaching people to mind their own business.

Thanks for the advice.

I am new to the forum.

How can I send you a private message in this forum?

Silly me, I can’t figure it out.

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I think so. To buy or rent a room from the government, you should be a roc national, but I don’t think there is any regulation saying who can rent a room from its owner.

Sublease is not allowed. Resell is not allowed for a certain period (10 years?) too. But an owner who bought a room can lease it, if the regulation is not changed within a year.

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If you want to inquire without stepping into anyone´s toes go to www.tmm.org.tw Their office is in Gongguan. It is a non profit that specializes in housing issues.

Tell them you feel a little uneasy about renting this place which is classified as social housing and would like to know if it is legal to rent such a place. That simple.

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A post was split to a new topic: Say this three times in the dark and see what happens :eek:

It was an apartment in the…
Banqiao Social housing complex at 180 Lequn rd. in Banqiao district, New Taipei City 220.
(I will not say which unit #)

If my Chinese was better I would inquire on my own.

Mostly I just want to find out if the landlord is doing something illegal by renting that out.

I think that he probably got a deal on the property on the grounds that he should be living there with his family. He is taking a unit away from a Taiwanese family and unfairly making a killing by renting it out to foreigners. The rent he charges is higher than it ought to be (but people who look at his ad from overseas seem to fall for it). If you look at the pictures in his ads you seem very impressed because it is a new building and the rent actually seems cheap for a new building. HOWEVER once you actually see the location and area you understand that it is cheap (for a new building) because the location is not exactly central and in kind of an awkward spot that is a bit out of the way.

Would someone please phone to inquire if this is legal or not?

A friend of mine suggested that I give the exact unit # to some local media outlets (anonymously of course!!!). He told me that some reporters may actually go knock on the door to see who is living there. He also suggested providing the landlord’s cell # because a reporter may call him and pretend to be looking for a room.

Aww that’s evil, evil.

sounds like a job for Super(K-)man.
“Here he comes to save the day…”
send email to him courtesy of Taiwan News

what you should do is to find out whether the person is owning the room, or renting it from a government.