Urban renewal social housing donations could earn up to 2x base floor area ratio; OURs says "no one will donate"

On October 28, 2026, the Legislative Yuan's Interior Committee held a public hearing to review the proposed amendments to the Urban Renewal Act and the Act for Expediting Reconstruction of Urban Unsafe and Dilapidated Buildings. The Executive Yuan approved the amendments in July this year. Under them, developers in urban renewal zones who donate social housing free of charge for use as marriage and childbirth housing can receive a floor area ratio bonus of up to 2x; developers in reconstruction areas for dilapidated and aging buildings who donate marriage and childbirth housing or other social welfare facilities can reach 1.45x the base floor area ratio.

The Ministry of the Interior said that under the draft amendment to the Urban Renewal Act, once a project has reached the cap on floor area ratio bonuses, it can raise that cap to 2x the base floor area ratio by additionally handing over, free of charge, the floor area and land title of social housing, provided the competent authority approves it after review. As for how much additional bonus to grant and how large a donated area it should correspond to, the ministry said this will depend on land conditions, the original floor area ratio, construction costs and market conditions, and that it will seek practical input when drafting the subordinate regulations.

The ministry's written report noted that if too little is donated, costs may not be covered, and if too much is donated, public benefit and the bonus fall out of balance. Dong Jianhong, deputy minister of the Interior, said the ministry will strongly require that government-led urban renewal projects apply for the social housing floor area ratio bonus, treating it as the first requirement, and will also work with local governments and the industry to comprehensively review whether each existing floor area ratio bonus is necessary.

Peng Yangkai, secretary-general of the OURs Urban Reform Organization, said that as of the end of ROC year 114, there were more than 1,300 approved urban renewal projects nationwide, of which 55 supplied social housing and only 10 did so through donations tied to floor area ratio bonuses, including 7 government-led and 3 privately led projects. He argued that the Executive Yuan's version only raises the bonus cap, and he advocated that anyone who wants more floor area ratio bonus must provide social housing, with government-led urban renewal projects doing so first.

Academics and industry hold differing views. Gao Wenting of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology said she supports the draft's new bonus for marriage and childbirth housing, while Zhang Xingbang of the National Federation of Real Estate Developers' Associations suggested changing the donation to a fixed ratio and adding other public-benefit facilities as options.