Hong Kong Housing Authority to Launch Schemes for Efficient Use of Subsidised Homes

Hong Kong’s Housing Authority will roll out two schemes in September to promote more efficient use of subsidised homes by allowing owners to lease properties without paying a premium and encouraging elderly owners to swap properties for a smaller or remote flat. The two initiatives received the green light from the subsidised housing committee of the Housing Authority, the city’s major public housing provider, on Thursday. The schemes will ease current restrictions on subsidised sale flats, which do not allow owners to lease or sell their properties unless they have paid a premium. Committee chairman Stephen Cheung Yan-leung said the initiatives could benefit landlords, tenants and the public. “The measures aim to revitalise the existing housing resources, not only to provide more rental options for low-to-middle income families, but also to strengthen the turnover of subsidised sale flats,” he said. Under the changes, individuals who have owned their properties for at least 10 years will be allowed to rent them to eligible families after paying a fee to authorities. The scheme has a 3,000-flat quota on a pilot basis.