Public rental housing

IN the fourth quarter of 2015, about 2.15 million people, or 30 percent of the population, live in public rental flats of the Housing Authority and Hong Kong Housing Society.

There were also about 147,000 public rental housing (PRH) general applicants and 143,700 non-elderly one-person applicants under the Quota and Points System (QPS). The average waiting time for general applicants was 3.7 years.

The Housing Authority’s revised estimated housing expenditure in 2014-15 was HK$23.7 billion (US$3.04 billion), or about 5.4 percent of public expenditure.

Rent policy

The Housing Authority’s long-established policy is to set PRH rents at affordable levels. Its rents include rates, management and maintenance costs, and ranged from HK$315 to HK$4,264 per month as at December, 2015, with the average being about HK$1,700.

The rent adjustment mechanism is based on changes in tenants’ overall household incomes. PRH rent reviews are conducted every two years and the next review will be conducted in mid-2016.

Rent assistance

The Housing Authority’s Rent Assistance Scheme offers rent cuts of 25 or 50 percent to tenants facing temporary financial difficulties. As at end-December, about 15,300 households were recipients.

Better-off tenants

Better-off tenants are required to pay higher rents. At the end of December 2015, about 22,900 households were paying higher rents.

Tenants who have lived in public housing estates for 10 years or more have to declare their household incomes every two years.

Those with household incomes exceeding the prescribed income limits set by the Housing Authority or who choose not to declare their incomes have to pay additional rent.

Households with total household income and net assets both exceeding the prescribed income and asset limits, or are paying double rent and choose not to declare their household assets, are required to move out.

Allocation

In 2015, about 21,400 PRH flats were allocated for rehousing purposes. About 9,300 of these were new flats and about 12,100 were refurbished flats. Of the total, about 14,300 were allocated to general applicants and non-elderly one-person applicants under the QPS, and about 4,600 to existing tenants for various types of transfers. The rest were allocated to other miscellaneous categories such as applicants for Compassionate Rehousing and families who are affected by the government’s clearance actions, fire, natural disasters and emergencies.