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Allocation
HOUSING
The Housing Authority owns and manages 580 000 rental flats in 129 housing estates. These flats are of different sizes, amenities and rent levels to meet the wide-ranging requirements of families in need of public housing.
During the year, 24 000 new flats and 6 000 vacated flats were let to the various categories of eligible applicants. The biggest share went to waiting list applicants (53 per cent), followed by tenants involved in the redevelopment of the old Mark I and II blocks and in the extended redevelopment programme (16 per cent), and families affected by develop- ment clearances (14 per cent). Junior civil servants, victims of fires and natural disasters, occupants of huts and other structures in dangerous locations, and compassionate cases recommended by the Social Welfare Department took up the rest of the flats.
The public housing waiting list and allocation of rental flats have been computerised, with information on nearly 3 000 000 applicants and tenants being stored in the Housing Applications and Tenancies Management Information System (HATMIS). The system enables housing allocation and duplication checks to be carried out effectively and produces useful statistical information.
During the year, 16 000 flats, mainly in Tuen Mun, Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan and Junk Bay were allocated to successful waiting list applicants. Waiting time varied from eight years for estates in Sha Tin to three years for those in Tuen Mun.
Applications for public rental housing were considered in the order of registration and in accordance with the choice of districts indicated by applicants. Accommodation was offered to those who, on investigation, were found eligible in respect of their family income and residence in Hong Kong. The income limits range from $4,200 for a family of two to $8,800 for a family of 10 or more. The number of 'live' applications at the end of the year stood at 144 000. In addition, there were 21 000 applications on the Single Persons Waiting List, which was established in January 1985. The income limit for single persons is $2,900. The authority provides a priority scheme under which elderly couples or single elderly persons applying in groups of two or more will be allocated public housing within two years. So far, 5 300 flats have been allocated to this category. In 1982, the authority approved an incentive scheme under which families with elderly parents are allocated housing one year ahead of their normal waiting time. So far, 3 800 families have benefited from this scheme. In 1986, the authority introduced a Sheltered Housing Scheme with a warden service for the able-bodied elderly. In 1988, the scheme's second sheltered housing project was opened at Tai Wo Estate in Tai Po, where 138 units were allocated to applicants attaining 60 years of age who were eligible under the compulsory rehousing categories, and to qualified elderly applicants from the Single Persons Waiting List and the Elderly Persons Priority Scheme.
Rent Policy for Public Housing
Rents for domestic premises in public housing estates have been maintained at low levels despite increasing operating and maintenance costs. This has been made possible by heavy government subsidies in the form of free land and low-interest loans.
Upon a recommendation of the Domestic Rent Policy Review Committee in December 1986, domestic rents for new public housing estates are set at not more than 15 per cent of the median rent-income ratio of the prospective tenants. Rents at present stand at $22.8 per square metre for the newest urban estates, with downward adjustments for others to reflect the difference in estate values. These rent levels represent about one-third of current market rents.