The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:
The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) today (October 16) announced that public housing tenants in short-term financial difficulty with rent in arrears may submit applications to the HA between October 2021 and March 2022. The HA will temporarily withhold issuing a Notice-to-Quit (NTQ) to the tenants concerned during the period if their applications are approved.
In a bid to help those tenants having financial problems to get through the hardship during the pandemic, the HA had already temporarily withheld the issuance of a NTQ to tenants between May and October 2020 upon approval of their applications. To tie in with the Government's relief measures and taking into account the persistent economic downturn during the pandemic, the HA has further extended the measure twice for five months and six months successively until September this year.
In addition, the HA has all along been providing assistance to public housing tenants who are facing temporary financial difficulty through the Rent Assistance Scheme (RAS). Under the scheme, eligible applicants will be granted either a 50 per cent or 25 per cent rent reduction for a period of two years. When there is an increase in their household income or a change in the number of family members, RAS beneficiaries should take the initiative to inform the HA for a review of their eligibility. The HA will also conduct random checking to guard against possible abuse.
Tenants may contact the respective estate offices or interim housing offices for details of the arrangements.
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