Housing policies assist multi-child families

Preferential housing policies are being introduced to help support multi-child families in Guangdong province.

According to the measures, families with multiple children will be given priority in renting government housing and buying properties in the coming months.

Families that meet the conditions and have a large number of children can be included in the priority rental allocation, or they can be directly selected based on local housing resources, the measures said.

Meanwhile, cities and regions can provide appropriate support policies, increasing the amount of housing provident fund loans for families with multiple children to purchase their first home.

The measures were drafted by the provincial health commission, the development and reform commission, and 15 other bureaus and departments.

"It will provide strong support for Guangdong to achieve a moderate fertility level and promote long-term balanced population development," the measures said.

With a population of more than 127 million, Guangdong is China's most populous province. But major cities, including Guangzhou and Shenzhen, started to witness a reduction in population starting at the end of last year, official statistics have revealed.

Families have welcomed the new policies.

Wu Shaoshuang, a primary school teacher in Dongguan city, said the new policies are good news for families with multiple children.

"The biggest help is that the new policy gives us more confidence to realize buying our own home in big cities," said Wu, a mother of three children.

Ordinary residents have many difficulties purchasing homes in big cities because of the prices, she said, adding that she has yet to purchase her own apartment in Dongguan.

Lin Lei, a white-collar worker in Guangzhou, said the favorable housing policies are reasonable, as they can help reduce the burden for the families in purchasing homes.

The introduction of the new policies can indeed encourage people to have more children, especially young people, said Lin, who has one child.

"But from my personal perspective, whether to have a second or third child should mainly be based on my own actual situation and abilities, and I would not be solely influenced by policies to decide to have one or two more children," she told China Daily.

The measures also urged education and relevant departments to improve childcare services to help families overcome their difficulties in looking after children.

More kindergartens and schools should also be constructed to meet demand, the measures said.

The measures suggested that more companies and factories should introduce flexible working hours for young mothers who have to look after children.

Wang Han contributed to this story.