Guangzhou Explores Expanding Use of Housing Vouchers for Displaced Residents

The southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou is considering allowing government-issued housing vouchers to be used for secondhand homes, a move that could ease resettlement pressures but faces challenges in the fragmented resale market.

Housing vouchers are typically issued by authorities to compensate residents whose homes are demolished, helping them relocate — often to designated newly built housing. The plan to include the secondary market comes as new developments in the city’s central districts increasingly focus on large, high-end residences. These properties are often too expensive for displaced residents to afford with their vouchers, prompting many who wish to stay in their old neighborhoods to prefer secondhand homes, an urban renewal professional told Caixin.