Urban rental housing policy to come up before Union Cabinet: Venkaiah Naidu

Policy aims at meeting growing housing needs of migrants, students, single working women

A policy on urban rental housing will soon come up before the Union Cabinet for approval, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday.

The policy aims at meeting the growing housing needs of migrants, students, single working women and others, he said.

"We have formulated a National Urban Rental Housing Policy 2017 which will come up soon before the Union Cabinet for approval. The consultation process is over and the draft is ready," Naidu told a press conference in New Delhi.

The policy assumes significance as 30 per cent of the urban population lives in rental accommodation and one-third of urbanisation is driven by migration.

On the other side, according to the 2011 census, over 11 million houses were lying vacant.

"We are keen on promoting a rental housing stock through the social rental housing with government support and market- driven rental housing without direct government support," Naidu said, without elaborating any further.

The Minister said the policy would also supplement the Centre's 'Housing for All' by 2022 mission.