SHANGHAI - A new rental housing policy in an East China city that requires police officers to classify the houses' security status with a colored metal plaque, has aroused controversy.

The measure, intended by local authorities to optimize rental housing management, was launched in July by the government of Changzhou, in East China's Jiangsu province.

According to Liu Zuming, a local police officer who came up with this initiative, the policy is supposed to represent the rented house's security record. The colors, from best record to worst, are blue, yellow and red.

Several criteria are appraised to determine the color rating an apartment is given: sanitary conditions, crime record, safety measures, neighborhood facilities, and whether the landlord has promptly notified police of new renters, Liu said.

Apartments that earn more than six credits, on a scale of zero to 10, can post the blue plague. Those with fewer than three points fall in the red category, he said.

The Changzhou public security bureau could not be reached for comment on Friday, but an earlier report by the Yangtze Evening News quoted the bureau's officials as saying that the move was aimed at efficiently managing the migrant workers who rent local houses and at maintaining social order.

Less than one month after it was adopted, residents are heavily divided on the issue.

Jiang Jing, 26, who rents an apartment in Changzhou, said the policy was applauded by renters like herself.

"The policy hasn't extended to the district I reside in, but I am very much looking forward to it. I think it will help regulate the rental housing market," Jiang told China Daily on Friday.

But 25-year-old Wang Bin didn't see it as good news. As the owner of four apartments in Changzhou, he said the move only causes unnecessary troubles.

Wang's three apartments for rent are in Wujin district, a populous area in the city. Wang said he never bothered to make a deal through an estate agency. Instead, he simply posted paper ads on streets.

"There are many migrant workers in this district, so it is rather easy for me to have my apartments rented. But now, to get a good rating, I will have to regularly inform the police if new renters are coming in, and their identities. That's none of my business," Wang complained.

Wang said it is more than obvious that the more credits you get, the higher rent you may expect, so the system encourages kickbacks.

Hu Shoujun, a sociologist at Fudan University, said he thinks the rating policy is reasonable for the sake of safety but "should not be a source of trouble to residents".

"Apartments can be rated by some qualified third-party institutions, but not by the police. The authorities may keep a close eye on a certain group of people, who they deem as 'dangerous', but they have no right to label them because before a crime is committed, everyone is equal."

Qiu Yue contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 08/06/2011 page2)