The State Council, China's cabinet, released a policy framework on solving housing difficulties for low-income urban families on Monday.

The policy framework urges cities to establish and improve the low-rent housing system as well as develop and regulate low-cost housing system to improve living conditions for low-income urban families.

The policy framework details that:

-- all low-income earners are to be covered by the low-rent housing system by the end of 2010;

-- set up a reasonable standards to ensure applicants qualified for low-rent housing and low-cost housing;

-- provide more subsidies for low-income families

-- offer more low-rent housing through construction, purchase, renovation and other means;

-- ensure the financing on low-rent housing, such as constructing and maintenance;

-- low-cost housing should be no more than 60 square meters perunit;

-- forbid low-cost housing sales;

-- strengthen management on houses, for internal sales, built by authorities and state-owned enterprises;

-- speed up the reconstruction of old residential quarters;

-- improve living conditions for migrant workers;

-- provide more construction land for low-rent and low-cost housing

-- ensure quality for low-rent and low-cost housing;

-- provincial government should take full responsibility for solving the housing difficulty for low-income urban families;

-- refers to this policy framework if previous rules are different.

(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2007)