Question No. 12
Reply by Hon. D.R. Ford, LVO, OBE, JP, Secretary for Housing, to a question by Hon. Mrs. Pauline NG CHOW May-hin in Legislative Council on 29th May 1985
QUESTION:
Can Government make a statement on the implementation of the new policy on inheritance of public housing tenancies since its introduction in November last year?
Sir,
The present policy on inheritance is based
upon the principle that the Housing Authority believes
that rental housing should be provided to those most in
need and that it is inequitable for tenancies to pass from
one generation to another in perpetuity without regard to
the income of the tenants. It seems to us reasonable,
therefore, that before a tenancy is inherited, some form
of income test should be applied.
Under present arrangements, when a tenant dies,
the tenancy can however automatically be inherited by the
surviving spouse. If both parents have passed away, the
second generation can inherit the tenancy if the total family income is less than $7,500 per month. This figure
is the maximum household income limit for the purchase of
Home Ownership for applicants from the private sector.
/If the