Authorities say they will speed up the development of the rental market in growing cities, with Chengdu among the first to take advantage of the policy. Recently, the first batch of rental homes operated by state-owned companies in the city was put on the market. And the initial result is good. Zheng Chunying has more.

Starting at 470 yuan a month. That's what it costs to rent a home in Chengdu now. The new 22-hundred apartments for lease are all in locations with good transport. Tenants are applauding the change, as the service guarantees their rights.

"The rent itself is not high. You can live here for as long as five years, and they will not force you out ahead of time, nor raise the rent."

"It's very stable. You no longer have the anxiety of having to move to a new place every few months. You no longer feel as though your home is not your home."

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan. The southwestern province is one of China's most populous. Chengdu in the first batch of the country's 12 cities to develop the rental market. The municipal government has so far set up four state-owned companies to specialize in the home rental business. The goal is to put the stockpile of unsold houses owned by local governments to use.

YANG JIAYAN CHENGDU HOUSING DEPARTMENT "We will look at the evaluation system of the house rental platform, to see how effective the pilot program is, and then expand the experience in a wider range."

By 2021, rental housing in Chengdu will reach more than one and a half million units. This should solve the housing problem of nearly 4 million people. The central government has been urging big cities with net population inflows to accelerate the development of the rental market. State-owned companies and property developers are called on to play active roles in increasing the supply. It remains to be seen how effective and resilient the reform will be before it's rolled out nationwide. CGTN.