Identifying Critical Factors Influencing the Rents of Public Rental Housing Delivery by PPPs: The Case of Nanjing

The occupancy rate of Public Rental Housing (PRH) in China is relatively low due to the unreasonable rents. At the same time, the development of PRH using Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) increases the complexity of the rents. Therefore, the critical factors influencing the rents of PRH delivery by PPPs should be identified. Based on the comprehensive literature, this article identified a conceptual model for the factors influencing the rents of PRH delivery by PPPs in China, composed of 14 factors grouped in three factor packages, and discussed the relationships among three factor packages. A survey based on Nanjing was conducted to assess the relative significance of 14 factors. According to the results, six critical factors were identified: construction costs, household income, floor area and structure, transportation, market rents in the same district and public facilities. In addition, the proposed conceptual model had a good fit. The results also supported two hypothetical relationships among three factor packages: (1) the increase of the affordability of the target tenants had a positive effect on the increase of profits of private sectors; and (2) the increase of the affordability of the target tenants had a positive effect on the increase of level of the characteristics of PRH units. For future research, six critical factors and the relationships among three factor packages can be used to determine the reasonable rents for PRH delivery by PPPs in China.