TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is considering providing people with longer-term access to public housing amid skyrocketing housing prices.

Currently, people who meet certain criteria are allowed public housing for three to six years. For the disadvantaged, the maximum term of the lease can be extended to 12 years, according to the Ministry of the Interior (MOI).

MOI officials said the government is now looking at 20- or 30-year public housing leases as many whose financial conditions have improved after six years may still not be able to afford a house, wrote CNA. Tenants will be banned from transferring the right to use the housing units to avoid speculation.

It is estimated that the top 20% of income earners in Taiwan can afford housing. These individuals will not be eligible for the new measure, UDN quoted officials as saying.

No timeframe has been set for the new policy, which was discussed in a recent meeting between representatives of the MOI, the National Housing and Urban Regeneration Center, and the National Property Administration.

The proposal is expected to better address the woes of the elderly living in old apartments without an elevator. Statistics last year showed one in nine housing units in Taiwan was over 50 years old as many urban renewal projects have stalled.