TAIPEI (TVBS News) — New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih criticized Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te on Wednesday (Nov. 15) for his approach to rental subsidies, pointing out that some landlords prefer to reduce rents rather than allowing tenants to apply for subsidies.
The criticism emerged during the 2023 NOWnews Crossroad Forum, where Lai responded to a college student's complaint about her landlord's refusal to let her apply for a housing subsidy.
Lai suggested that landlords offering rental subsidies could benefit from reductions in land and house taxes, income taxes, and receive funds for home maintenance and administrative fees. He advised the student to communicate these benefits to her landlord.
However, Chiu rebuked Lai's comments, arguing that landlords might choose to lower rents instead of enabling tenants to apply for subsidies to avoid increased income tax.
Chiu also noted that although the government increased the rental subsidy budget to NT$300 billion last year, intending to support 500,000 households, only 278,000 households actually received the subsidy, marking an implementation rate of just 55.74%.