HA to maintain monthly car park charges at existing level for one year
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:
The Commercial Properties Committee (CPC) of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) today (December 2) approved the decision to maintain the existing monthly charges of HA's car parks for one year from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, and to slightly increase the hourly charges for private car (PC), light goods vehicle (LGV) and motor cycle (MC) parking spaces as well as the Day Pass and 24-hour Pass charges for PC parking spaces.
The HA has about 32 800 parking spaces in 185 car parks as at the end of September 2021, the majority of which (about 88 per cent) serve local residents subject to monthly charges.
The HA reviews its car park charges annually, and the approved charges will take effect from January 1 of the following year. In reviewing its car park charges, the HA makes reference to the current market level including car park charges of other public bodies and comparable private sector car park charges, with a view to bringing the charges within the range of market charges.
"Our market research indicates that the monthly car park charges of most of the comparable car parks in 2021 have been maintained at the 2020 level, and HA's current monthly car park charges for all types of parking spaces are in general within the range of comparable car park charges at market level," a spokesman for the HA said.
"In line with the market, CPC endorsed maintaining the existing monthly car park charges for all types of parking spaces for one year."
The HA's monthly charges for PC parking spaces are subject to a three-tier charging system with different discounts based on occupancy rates (i.e. Tier 1 for occupancy rates at 90 per cent or above without discount, Tier 2 for occupancy rates at 50 per cent to below 90 per cent with 10 per cent discount, and Tier 3 for occupancy rates below 50 per cent with 15 per cent discount). The tier to be adopted for the charges of individual car parks in 2022 will be based on their respective occupancy rates from August to October 2021. Accordingly, if the occupancy rate of a car park rises to a higher tier or falls to a lower tier, the discount and hence the monthly charge for PC parking spaces in such a car park will be adjusted with effect from January 1, 2022. Subsequently, if the occupancy rate of a car park falls to a lower tier for three consecutive months during 2022, the discount for the lower tier will apply.
For PCs, the monthly charges for Tier 1 fixed parking spaces remain unchanged at $1,640 – $2,890 for covered spaces and $1,350 – $2,390 for open spaces. The monthly charges for LGV parking spaces are maintained at $3,140 for covered spaces and $2,420 for open spaces, while coach/bus parking spaces are at $4,050 for covered spaces and $3,020 for open spaces. The monthly charges for MC parking spaces are $560 for covered spaces and $430 for open spaces.
A total of about 3 700 parking spaces of HA's portfolio are made available for visitors on hourly charges. Market surveys conducted by the HA indicate that HA's current hourly charges for PC, LGV and MC parking spaces, and the Day Pass and 24-hour Pass charges for PCs are generally below the current rates for most of the private sector car parks, and a number of private sector car parks have increased their hourly charges in the past year.
"To bring the charges to a level comparable to the market, the CPC endorsed increasing the hourly rates by $1 for PC, LGV and MC parking spaces, and to increase the Day Pass and 24-hour Pass charges for PC parking spaces by $5, for all regions in 2022," the spokesman said.
The HA has been offering free parking for a maximum of two hours during electricity charging of electric vehicles (EVs) at its hourly parking spaces since 2012.
Taking into account the Government's plan to impose EV charging fees in government car parks from around 2025 under the Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles issued by the Environment Bureau in March 2021 and the fact that EVs have become more commonly used, the CPC endorsed discontinuing the offering of free parking during electricity charging at HA's hourly parking spaces for 2022, in line with the current practice of government car parks and most private car parks.
"However, free electricity will continue to be provided for charging of EVs at HA's hourly parking spaces in line with market practice," the spokesman said.
"The HA has been charging utility companies a nominal licence fee of $1 per annum for EV charging facilities installed at HA's car parks. CPC endorsed today continuing such a concessionary arrangement for the year of 2022," he said.
In May last year, in line with the Government's relief measures in response to the pandemic, the CPC approved a 75 per cent rent concession to car park users for the monthly parking of commercial vehicles for the period from April 1 to September 30, 2020. The rent concession was subsequently extended in September 2021 for the third time up to March 2022.