Abstract: Meager-profit sustainable renewal has become an important approach for attracting social capital into the regeneration of old residential communities in contemporary China. As local experimentation has diversified, a systematic synthesis of the accumulated experience is urgently needed. Starting from a cost-benefit balance perspective, this paper identifies the driving mechanism of meager-profit sustainable renewal and the pathways through which asset value can be activated during the renovation and operation stages. Based on a comparative review of representative cases across China, it summarizes six typical models, clarifies their characteristics, application conditions, and implementation requirements, and provides references for reducing pressure on public finance while motivating the participation of social capital and residents.