Regulating in-between (in)formality: institutionalising the private rental market in China’s urban villages

The governance of informal settlements in China–primarily urban villages–remains a persistent challenge. Recently, some urban village houses have been transformed into long-term rental apartments (LRAs). This highlights a potentially novel approach to addressing the longstanding informality issue, but how the rental market in urban villages has thus been reshaped remains unknown. Examining the case of Shenzhen’s Yuanfen Village through the lens of regulating informality, this paper reveals that (1) new renovations are facilitated by the intermediary management of LRA companies with government consent; (2) the renovation into LRAs involves a balancing process among stakeholders but leaves the illegal aspects untouched; and (3) while the renovation improves the living environment, low-income households are inevitably displaced. This study contributes to a theoretical and practical understanding of regulating informality by challenging the monolithic formal-informal dichotomy and connecting the conceptualization and materialization of continuous and dynamic property rights that enable new possibilities for effective and inclusive management of urban growth.