Local authorities are determined to clamp down on "collective renting" to prevent landowners from cramming too many tenants in a small house, citing safety concerns.

The Shanghai Housing, Land and Resource Administration Bureau said on Tuesday that tackling collective renting would be a priority this year, as it tried to seek solutions for the common problem shared by many cities.

Meanwhile, the municipal government promised more residents will have access to low rent homes in 2007.

Collective renting refers to a flat being leased at the same time to more than three and sometimes up to 10 people who usually don't know each other.

It is common in Shanghai and other major cities, such as Beijing, Tianjin and Suzhou, as low-income earners, who cannot afford skyrocketing housing prices, try to minimize the share of the rent each has to pay.

In a typical case, a three-bedroom unit was divided into seven different rooms and rented to more than 10 individuals, much to the ire of neighbors.

Last November the bureau put forward a draft regulation that prohibits collective renting, and so far this year has circulated some 5,000 copies to residential communities across the city.

(China Daily February 15, 2007)