Following is a question by Dr the Hon Chow Man-kong and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Housing, Mr Victor Tai, in the Legislative Council today (June 26):
Question:
There are views that in recent years, the intakes of public housing projects of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) are often concentrated at the end of the year (or near the Lunar New Year), making it difficult for tenants to arrange timely removals or diminishing owners' motivation to carry out decoration works. This indirectly affects downstream industries such as decoration, transport and logistics, and interior design (the industries) in terms of service demand and operation, and is not conducive to the businesses of small and medium-sized enterprises and recovery of the economy. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following information on public rental housing (PRH), Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) and other subsidised sale flats completed in the past five years under the HA: (i) project title, (ii) number of flats provided (with a breakdown by flat size), (iii) date of completion (year and month), and (iv) date of intake (year and month), and set out in Table 1 a breakdown by the three regions, namely Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, as well as District Council district;
Table 1 Year:
| Region | District Council district | Project | (i) | (ii) | (iii) | (iv) |
| Hong Kong Island | ||||||
| Kowloon | ||||||
| New Territories |
(2) of the following information on PRH, GSH and other subsidised sale flats being constructed under the HA: (i) project title, (ii) number of flats to be provided (with a breakdown by flat size), (iii) expected date of completion (year and month), and (iv) expected date of intake (year and month), and set out in Table 2 a breakdown by the three regions, namely Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, as well as District Council district; and
Table 2 Year:
| Region | District Council district | Project | (i) | (ii) | (iii) | (iv) |
| Hong Kong Island | ||||||
| Kowloon | ||||||
| New Territories |
(3) whether it will review the dates of intake of PRH, GSH and other subsidised sale flats under the HA, and evenly distribute the dates across different months of the year, so as to spur market growth by boosting the demand for domestic sales across different industries in Hong Kong, thereby creating strong impetus for growth in the industries; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The objective of the Government and the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) is to provide public rental housing (PRH) to low-income families who cannot afford private rental accommodation, and to provide subsidised sale flats (SSFs) to address the home ownership aspirations of low- to middle-income families. The HA will complete public housing projects as early as possible through planning, design and construction measures and subject to the conditions being met, will enable phased completion of the projects and early occupation, thereby speeding up the allocation and in-take for public housing applicants.
The reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Chow Man-kong is as follows:
(1) The information on PRH, Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) and other SSFs (including Home Ownership Scheme (HOS)) completed in the past five years (i.e. 2019-20 to 2023-24) under the HA by the three regions, namely Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, as well as by District Council districts is set out in Annex 1.
(2) According to the forecast as at March 2024, the projects to be completed by the HA in the five-year period from 2024-25 to 2028-29 by the three regions, namely Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, as well as by District Council districts are set out at Annex 2.
The yearly public housing production is mainly determined by the land supply each year from the Government for public housing development as well as progress of individual projects. Foundation and building works normally take about four to five years. The HA will strive for timely completion of projects through regular and close monitoring of the progress of each project. In general, occupation permit (OP) can be obtained about two to three months after project completion. Upon the issuance of OP for a newly completed PRH estates, the HA will issue offer letters to prospective tenants within one to two weeks for completion of the intake formalities in estate office.
(3) When there is completion of mega projects, the intake time of tenants will be relatively concentrated. However, if the intake formalities of prospective tenants are to be evenly distributed across different months of the year, intake dates of some projects may need to be deferred. The prospective tenants concerned will probably have to pay more rent for the private flats they currently reside in and cannot have their living environment improved timely. This is inconsistent with our policy objective of expediting the intake of PRH applicants.
Similarly, if the completion dates of sale and purchase of SSFs are to be evenly distributed across different months of a year, Green Form purchasers may have to defer the return of the PRH flats in which they reside to the HA, and this will in turn affect the turnover of PRH flats. White Form purchasers may also be required to pay more rent for their current residence in the private market.
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