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The following is issued on behalf of Housing Authority:
The Housing Authority will continue to allocate the biggest share of the planned public rental housing (PRH) supply, at 67.3 per cent of the year﷿s provision, to Waiting List (WL) applicants in 2006/07.
The Authority﷿s Subsidised Housing Committee (SHC) approved today provision of 29,700 PRH flats for eligible families, out of which 20,000 flats will go to Waiting List applicants. The rest of 9,700 flats will be allocated to various categories.
䩕Although there is a shortfall of 3,300 flats or 10 per cent when compared to last year﷿s planned allocation of 33,000 flats, the Authority pledges to maintain the average waiting time at around three years,蒅 the Chairman of the SHC, Mr. Michael Choi Ngai-min, said.
䩕The 29,700 PRH flats for location comprise 8,400 new flats and 21 3000 refurbished flats,蒅 he added.
Following a Review of Allocation Policy for Non-elderly One-person Applicants last year setting the annual allocation quota for these applicants at eight per cent of the number of flats to be allocated to WL applicants subject to a ceiling of 2,000 flats, this year﷿s provision under this category will be 1,600 flats.
To maximise utilisation of PRH resources, the existing ad hoc relaxations allowing applicants registered on the WL before certain dates and whose district of choice was not Urban District (UB) to opt for UB, when there were anticipated vacant flats in UB surplus to requirements will continue.
Applications will be invited from WL applicants registered before 1st October 2004 in mid-2006 to switch their choice of district to UB, if they so wish, thereby generating more demand for UB PRH flats.
Under Comprehensive Redevelopment and Major Repairs Programme for 2006/07, a total of 1,500 flats will be allocated for the redevelopment of Shek Kip Mei Estate Phases 5 & 6 and for early thinning-out of tenants in So Uk Estate which will be cleared in a few years﷿ time. Another 100 flats will be set aside for tenants affected by major repairs, making a total of 1,600 flats.
To cater for rehousing needs affected by clearance, Urban Renewal Authority Projects and Interim Housing trawling exercises, 400 flats have been allocated to the Clearance Category.
As for overcrowding relief and transfer needs, 2,000 flats have been set aside to reflect the reduced applications from overcrowded families, which number stood at about 5,000 currently. Another 3,000 flats will be set aside for transfers.
䩕We will closely monitor the situation and flexibly deploy the total quota of 5,000 flats under this category to meet changing circumstances,蒅 Mr. Choi said.
䩕The yearly allocation of 2,000 flats for compensate rehousing will be maintained,蒅 Mr. Choi said, adding that additional flats will be made available to meet extra demand, if required.
Please see annex for the Allocation Plan for 2006 / 07 showing the allocation figures for various categories.
Ends/Thursday, May 25, 2006
Issued at HKT 13:34
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