Hong Kong considers further shift in public housing supply ratio to 50:50

Hong Kong authorities are gauging public feedback on a possible shift in the supply ratio of public rental flats to subsidised sale homes to an even 50:50 split, the housing minister has said.

Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin told a planning forum on Saturday that the total supply of public housing would reach 196,000 flats over the next five years.

Under measures outlined in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s 2024 policy address, the Housing Authority – Hong Kong’s biggest public housing provider – aims to transition its production target from a 70:30 ratio of public rental-to-subsidised sale flats to a 60:40 split.

However, Ho said authorities were collecting public feedback to explore whether there was a basis to adjust the ratio further to 50:50.

“We previously adopted a 70:30 ratio – 70 per cent public rental housing and 30 per cent subsidised sale flats – as the ratio was used to clear the long waiting queue for public rental housing as quickly as possible,” she said.

“But the current government has already proposed in the policy address that over the next 10 years, this ratio will gradually shift to 60:40, moving towards providing more subsidised sale housing.”