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LAND AND HOUSING
Government low-cost housing estates are built by the Public Works Department and managed by the Housing Authority on behalf of the Government. All expenditure, capital and recurrent, is met from government revenue. The first of these estates was completed in 1963, and at the end of 1969 there were 10 estates under management, including three partly completed. Another five projects were under development-one in Kwun Tong, one in Ho Man Tin and three in Kwai Chung. The estates under manage- ment have a total capacity of 160,771 people in 29,307 flats; by the time the eight estates are completed, about 430,000 people will have low-cost homes in the 15 estates. The government low-cost housing programme is reviewed annually by the Housing Board.
At the end of the year, the Housing Authority had under its management 27,379 flats with a total capacity of 167,405 people. Since April 1, 1969, the authority has maintained a combined waiting list from which to find tenants to fill vacancies in both Housing Authority and government low-cost housing estates, present or future. This list will remain open indefinitely and accepts registration of eligible applicants at any time, free of charge.
The Housing Authority flats cater for families with a family income from $400 to $1,250 per month; government low-cost housing flats, a family income not exceeding $500 a month. 'Family income' is defined for this purpose as the total of the main or permanent emoluments accruing to the principal wage earner, together with 50 per cent or such higher proportion as the authority might from time to time decide, of his casual earnings and of earnings of other members of the family. Applications are processed in the order of registration. At the end of the year, the waiting list con- tained 112,561 applications, of which 10,600 had been passed after investigation for allocation of flats.
All the accommodation under the control of the Housing Authority is maintained and managed at a high standard. Its staff are all government servants working as the Housing Division of the Urban Services Department under the direction of the Commissioner for Housing. The authority reimburses all staff salaries to the Government, plus a percentage surcharge to meet indirect staff costs such as pensions and medical treatment.