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The following is issued on behalf of the Housing Authority:
A spokesman for the Housing Authority (HA) said today (August 12) that the payment given under the Government's Scheme $6,000 will not be counted as income in the vetting of public rental housing (PRH) applications.
"In accordance with a decision of the Subsidised Housing Committee of the HA, the one-off payment, including both the $6,000 and the bonus of $200 where applicable, will be excluded from counting as income for the purpose of PRH application. It will also be excluded from counting as an asset for 12 months from the date of receipt of the amount. After the 12-month grace period, any unspent amount will be treated as savings and subject to the prescribed asset limit," the HA spokesman said.
The Financial Secretary announced in March - and the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council approved in July this year - the proposal to give a sum of $6,000 to each Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card holder aged 18 or above.
The Authority will enclose a supplementary note in the application forms to inform PRH applicants of the arrangements.
Ends/Friday, August 12, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:33
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