To qualify for the Ministry of the Interior "NT$30 Billion Central Expanded Rent Subsidy Project" (300 億元中央擴大租金補貼專案), the rented property must have a legal building certificate or house tax registration (房屋稅籍) and meet requirements such as "the registered primary use contains the words residence, residential, farmhouse, suite, apartment, or dormitory" or "house tax is assessed at the residential rate"; un-registered rooftop additions (頂樓加蓋) and illegally subdivided industrial factory suites generally fail review. In addition, once a tenant's rent subsidy is approved, the landlord automatically becomes a "Public Welfare Lessor" (公益出租人) by law without a separate application, enjoying a 1.2% house tax rate, a 0.2% (2‰) land value tax rate (subject to local government rules), and an individual income tax exemption of up to NT$15,000 per house per month in rental income. Based on the Ministry of the Interior operational rules and the Housing Act (《住宅法》) verified on 2026-11-07, this article summarizes the building eligibility checklist and landlord tax calculations.
What kinds of buildings qualify for the rent subsidy: 3 eligibility categories under Ministry of the Interior rules
Many renters meet the income limits for single youth or families, only to receive a "supplemental document / rejection notice" after applying because of the rented building's legal status. Under the Operational Directions for the NT$30 Billion Central Expanded Rent Subsidy Project (300 億元中央擴大租金補貼專案計畫作業規定), the rented building must fall under one of three categories:
| Building category | Primary use and house tax registration criteria | System verification or supporting documents required at application |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Building with ownership preservation registration (保存登記, has a building ownership certificate) whose primary use is residential | The "primary use" (主要用途) on the building registration transcript, ownership certificate, or occupancy permit contains the words 「住」, 「住宅」 (residence), 「農舍」 (farmhouse), 「套房」 (suite), 「公寓」 (apartment), or 「宿舍」 (dormitory) | Government systems verify cadastral records directly via the street address on the lease; tenants generally do not need to attach the ownership deed, provided the doorplate address is complete and accurate |
| 2. Building with ownership registration, but primary use is "non-residential" (such as commercial-zone general office 一般事務所 or shop) | Although the registered primary use lacks the word "residential", the unit is actually used for living and all or part of its assessed house tax value on the house tax bill or tax certificate is taxed at the "residential" (住家用) rate | Must attach the house tax bill or tax authority assessment certificate showing residential taxable value; however, industrial-zone factory suites that violate land-use zoning remain strictly excluded |
| 3. Building without ownership preservation registration (older buildings without title deeds) | No building registration transcript, but holds a "legal building certificate" (合法房屋證明), or documents assisted and certified by the municipal or county/city government showing construction was completed before building management took effect, plus house tax registration records | Must attach a house tax registration certificate (房屋稅籍證明書, taxed at the residential rate) together with a legal building certificate or pre-building-management completion proof certified by the local government |
To check before signing a lease how old the landlord's building is and whether your floor falls within the legal occupancy permit, ask the landlord to show the ownership certificate or house tax bill and pair it with the site's old-house checkup tool and rent subsidy eligibility and required document guide.
Why do "rooftop additions (頂樓加蓋)" frequently get rejected? Breaking down 3 common situations
Taipei and New Taipei have many subdivided suites built atop the 4th or 5th floor of walk-up apartments (commonly called "5F rooftop additions" or "6F rooftop additions"), which rent for 20% to 30% less than legal floors but account for the highest rate of rent subsidy rejections:
- Rooftop illegal structures with no independent doorplate and no residential house tax registration: If the rooftop unit was added privately without a permit (for example, the ownership deed and occupancy permit only go up to the 4th floor, and you rent an unnumbered "4F rooftop addition" or "5F addition"), that added structure is not a legal building and holds no legal building certificate, so it cannot pass rent subsidy review under the central government's strengthened building-legality checks.
- Paying house tax does not make an illegal rooftop addition a legal building: Many landlords and tenants mistakenly believe that "because the rooftop addition has a house tax registration number and pays house tax every year, it is a legal house". In fact, tax authorities levy house tax purely based on actual use, and tax bills explicitly state that "payment of house tax represents only fulfillment of a tax obligation and cannot render an unlicensed illegal structure legal"; a tax registration certificate for an illegal addition without a legal building certificate or pre-building-management completion proof does not satisfy Category 3 in the table above. For rules on rooftop additions and repair limits in Taipei and New Taipei, see the site's guide to existing rooftop illegal structure repair limits and demolition risks in Taipei and New Taipei.
- Lease address traps when sharing a doorplate with a legal floor: If a landlord rents out the legal 4th floor and illegal 5th-floor rooftop addition together, or a tenant living in the rooftop addition writes "4th Floor" on the lease while another tenant on the legal 4th floor also applies under the same doorplate, reviewers comparing household counts, floor plans, and taxable values will flag the discrepancy and require a written undertaking or supplementary proof; never falsify the floor number on a lease.
