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HKFP
26-05-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Hong Kong to cut subsidy scheme for families waiting for public housing, despite NGO's call
Hong Kong authorities have said they will not extend a trial subsidy scheme for people waiting for public housing, despite warnings from an NGO that ending the benefits would impose a financial burden on the poor. The Society for Community Organization (SoCO) said in a press conference on Sunday that its survey of 330 households found that over 40 per cent received the Cash Allowance Trial Scheme. According to SoCO's findings, the scheme helped nearly 70 per cent of recipients move to a better living environment. It also supported their food and medical expenses, as well as costs associated with their children's education. Launched in 2021, the scheme provides a monthly allowance for households that have been waiting for public rental housing for over three years and are not receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance scheme, a subsidy programme for low-income families. Recipients of the trial scheme receive between HK$1,300 and HK$3,900 a month, depending on the size of their households. In May, the government said the scheme would conclude at the end of June. In response to media enquiries, the Housing Bureau said on Sunday that the scheme would end as planned. The bureau said the first batch of flats under the Light Public Housing scheme – which provides rental accommodation for households that have been waiting for public housing for at least three years – has been completed, with move-ins having started in March. The second batch of flats will begin move-ins at the end of June. Given that beneficiaries can soon occupy these transitional housing flats, as well as the government's need to be prudent in public spending, the government has no intention of continuing the scheme, the bureau added. 305,000 recipients As of the end of February, a total of around 110,000 eligible households – or about 305,000 people – had benefited from the Cash Allowance Trial Scheme, the government said. The scheme's expenditure was around HK$5.56 billion. The scheme has already been extended for one year past its expiry date. When it was launched in 2021, the government said it would run on a three-year trial basis, with an expected end date in mid-2024. Last year, the government said it would prolong the scheme for one year until June 2025 to 'help grassroots families on the waiting list for public rental housing.' In its press release, SoCO urged the authorities to help the city's poor 'weather the hard times' and to extend the scheme. The group said that the Light Public Housing scheme would offer only 55,000 units when completed, far fewer than the number of households receiving the cash allowance. It added that more than 80 per cent of the units would only be completed between the last quarter of this year and the last quarter of next year. During the annual budget address in February, the city's financial chief Paul Chan announced that the city had logged an estimated HK$87.2 billion deficit, marking the third shortfall in a row. SoCO acknowledged the government's aims to lower spending, but emphasised that the beneficiaries of such welfare schemes were grassroots families. 'Any consideration to cancel this program must be handled with greater caution, as it cannot be assessed solely from a financial perspective,' SoCO wrote in Chinese. ' The social impact of the program should not be disregarded.'
South China Morning Post
29-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's unsold homes reach all-time high as buyers hesitate amid tariff threats
The number of unsold first-hand private residential units in Hong Kong's completed projects rose to a record high last quarter as developers struggled to clear inventory at reduced prices and a global tariff war heightened economic uncertainty. Advertisement There were 28,000 unsold units as of March 31, an increase of 1,000 from the preceding quarter, according to data published by the Housing Bureau on Tuesday. The trend prompted the city's home builders to rein in new launches for the past four quarters, it added. Since the city's housing market peaked in September 2021, a measure of home prices has slumped by about 29 per cent as social unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic sent the local economy into a tailspin. A recovery over the past six months is in jeopardy, after US President Donald Trump rolled out his so-called reciprocal tariffs on April 2 on most of the nation's trading partners. 'The escalating US tariff policy is negatively impacting homebuyer sentiment in Hong Kong,' Knight Frank said in a report on Tuesday. 'Amid macroeconomic uncertainties and currency depreciation risks, buyers are likely to be more cautious, potentially delaying purchases.' Buyers snapped up all the units on sale last weekend at Sierra Sea, a project developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties, Photo: Jonathan Wong The Housing Bureau estimated that some 105,000 first-hand private residential units could add to the existing supply over the next four years, based on development plans up to March this year. That would be the lowest projected supply in seven quarters, aided by a rebound in home sales this year.
South China Morning Post
31-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong lawmakers question if landlords will register subdivided flats
Lawmakers have expressed concerns over whether landlords will take part in a proposed registration scheme for subdivided homes in Hong Kong, with some urging authorities to reduce the fees to increase the incentive. Advertisement They questioned the government's approach at a Legislative Council panel meeting on Monday, where officials discussed the latest proposal for the scheme that offers a three-year grace period for landlords to rectify substandard flats to meet minimum standards. 'How could the Housing Bureau ensure the registration is efficient ?' lawmaker Vincent Cheng Wing-shun said. Lawmaker Chan Hok-fung asked whether the registration fee could be reduced and if the bureau had enough manpower for enforcement actions in the future if owners failed to register their flats. Lawmaker Judy Chan Kapui suggested the HK$1,000 (US$129) registration fee be waived in the first year as an 'early bird discount'. Advertisement She added the fee could be significantly increased in the second or third year to encourage owners to register as early as possible. The government earlier proposed drafting a new law allowing only registered subdivided flats – known as 'basic housing units' – that meet minimum standards to remain on the rental market. It is estimated there are 110,000 subdivided flats in the city.
South China Morning Post
20-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
New policy will force out 1,200 of Hong Kong's most well-off tenants in 4 years
Close to 1,200 of the most well-off tenants in Hong Kong's public rental homes will be forced out in four years' time even if they are willing to pay higher rents, in a more aggressive move to prevent abuse of public housing resources by the government, the Post had learned. Advertisement However, those tenants will be eligible to apply for subsidised homes in the next four years, as a Green Form applicant after they leave, according to the new policy proposed by the Housing Bureau, to be announced on Friday, sources said. Green Form applicants are tenants giving up their right to live in public homes and as a result only need to pay 5 per cent of a subsidised flat's value as a down payment. 'The purpose of the proposed policy is to further prevent abuse of public housing resources, and to encourage upward mobility of tenants who are now much better off,' an insider told the Post. The new measures are part of a more aggressive move by the authority to tighten the rental requirements for well-off tenants, which will see them paying a significantly higher rental. Advertisement Under the current requirement, tenants whose income has increased to two times the income limit, have to pay 1.5 times of the basic rental, while those whose income increased to more than three times, but less than five times, will see their rent go up to two times of the basic requirement.
South China Morning Post
18-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Task force to look into cutting construction costs for Hong Kong public flats
Published: 8:30am, 18 Feb 2025 Housing authorities will set up a task force to look into cutting costs for building public rental flats, including design, materials and procedures, with the outlay for each home rising by 5.4 per cent to nearly HK$1 million (US$128,205) while Hong Kong faces a massive deficit. In a move welcomed by industry professionals, the Housing Bureau will establish a task force led by a director-grade official to see if there is room to squeeze the construction costs of various works. The Development Bureau earlier told the Post that it was conducting a study to devise measures to bring down costs. Authorities revealed in January that the cost of building a public flat had risen from HK$920,000 last year to HK$970,000. The cost of building subsidised flats offered under the Home Ownership Scheme also rose from HK$1.09 million to HK$1.15 million, sparking concern in society. 'We will review how direct procurement and adjustments to the processes can save us manpower and costs,' a government source said. Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said on Monday that the second generation of 'modular integrated construction' (MiC) was cheaper now than when the government first adopted the technique. The MiC method employs free-standing, integrated modules from mainland Chinese factories that undergo quality inspections before being installed on-site.
