THE HONG KONG HOUSING AUTHORITY
March 1969.
The Authority was formed as a result of the Housing Ordinance, No. 18 of 1954. It comprises the whole of the Urban Council, plus three other members who may be appointed by the Governor, and the Commissioner for Housing ex-officio. The aim of the Authority is to provide as much accommodation as possible for those residents of the Colony living in overcrowded and unsatisfactory conditions. It builds and manages low rental flats for that section of the population with family incomes generally of $400 to $900 a month, and, on behalf of the Government, it also manages the low cost flats built by the Public Works Department under a programme designed for families with incomes below $500 a month.
The Authority has to date (March 1969) completed seven estates, the Wah Fu Estate is partially complete and one other is under construction. When completed, these nine projects will have housed 218,595 people in
34,918 flats and will have cost $334.56m. A further scheme, approved in principle and awaiting the availability of the site, will bring these figures up to 260,172 people in 40,981 flats, and $403.08m.
The Authority's staff consists of Government servants seconded to the Authority, whose salaries and establishment charges are reimbursed to Government. The Chairman of the Urban Council is Chairman of the Authority.
Policy
The Authority's present policy is to cater for those applicants who have a family income of between $400 and $900 a month, although families with incomes up to $1,250 a month may be considered for higher rental flats. Its aim is to provide such applicants with self-contained domestic accommodation of a size appropriate to the size of family, with a minimum of 35 sq.ft. of habitable floor space per person, plus a small kitchen, a toilet with water-closet and shower and private balcony. Rents are fixed at a level designed to cover all outgoings and to provide a reasonable amount for reserve, the intention being to use surplus funds where they accrue to help to build more low rent housing schemes.
Finance
The Authority functions as a commercial enterprise and although rents are kept as low as possible, they must be sufficient to cover all expenditure, capital and operating. It receives no subsidies as such, but Crown land has been allocated at one-third of the estimated market price, and Government loans have been granted on favourable interest rates. For rental purposes the Authority's capital expenditure is amortized over forty years.
The basic financing of the 10-year progressive building programme has been from loans made available by the Government, which have been consolidated and regarded as a revolving fund on which the interest only is being repaid. At 31.3.69 the total fixed and net current assets stood. at $290.31m. and, of this amount, $237.72m. was financed by drawing on loan funds, whilst the balance of $52.59m. was met by self-financing. programme envisages that when the present approved revolving loan fund of $260m. is fully drawn in 1970, it will have been possible to finance total capital expenditure of over $333m.
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