6688 Social Housing Master-Lease and Management Cases Tracked; 4196 Transferred or Closed

In August 2026, Hermit Crab rental company drew attention over a financial dispute involving a related company, and then announced its withdrawal from the government's social housing master-lease and management program. The National Housing and Urban Regeneration Center subsequently began a large-scale transfer of cases. Storm Media's The Journalist reports that as of October 16, 2026, a total of 6688 cases were being tracked, of which 4196 had been transferred or closed, 2335 were being handled, and 157 were still being contacted.

The government says that for problems such as landlords being owed unpaid rent and tenants' deposits not being returned, it will start making compensation payments after verification.

The arrangement has also drawn discussion. Wang Zeren, Vice Chairman of the National Federation of Rental Housing Service Trade Associations, said that running direct construction, master-lease and management, and rent subsidies in parallel has its uses. Liao Tinghui, a researcher at the OURs Urban Reform Organization, said that as long as rent does not exceed the cap, what landlords charge follows market rules, and the only advantage of master-lease and management is that tenants can apply for rent subsidies. Jiang Yinghui, Associate Professor in the Department of Land Economics at National Chengchi University, pointed out that the supply of short-term rentals appears to increase but in fact relies on fiscal subsidies, and that a market distortion may arise in which rents are raised after tenants receive rent subsidies.