HOUSING
Cottage Areas
There were six cottage areas in the territory, housing 9 900 people. The largest one, at Tiu Keng Leng, is due for clearance.
Private Housing
In 1993, some 27 700 residential flats were built by the private sector. To increase the housing supply by the private sector, the government announced plans in October to provide additional staff for the Lands Department in 1994 to speed up the processing of lease modifications and land exchanges. In this way, an extra 2000 flats, on top of the current 15 000 from this category, should reach the market each year.
To combat speculation activities in the property market, the administration introduced a series of measures, including stringent requirements on the presale of flats under construction and amendments to the Stamp Duty Ordinance to require the payment of stamp duty on all sale and purchase agreements for residential properties. Some local banks have tightened their mortgage lending policies. Residential property prices have steadied since August.
'Sandwich' Class Housing Scheme
A new middle-income housing scheme for the 'sandwich' class was introduced during the year, aiming to help families that are neither eligible for public housing nor able to afford to buy their own homes in the private sector.
The scheme, operated by the Housing Society, comprises a short-term and long-term programme.
Under the short-term scheme, a low-interest loan fund of $2 billion was set up to provide beneficiaries with a one-off loan as part of a down-payment for a flat.
In August, the first phase of the loan scheme was launched, offering to 1 000 beneficiaries low-interest loans of 20 per cent of the sale price of a flat, up to a limit of $500,000. Repayment at a low interest rate would only begin in the fourth year, when the beneficiary's financial position has improved.
The applicants had to have at least seven years' continuous residence in Hong Kong and the total monthly family income had to be within the range of $20,001-$40,000, among other requirements.
A total of 3 435 applications were received.
Under the long-term scheme, land is to be given to the Housing Society at a con- cessionary premium to build flats for sale to the 'sandwich' class at affordable prices.
Six sites were earmarked under the 1993-94 land disposal programme for this purpose. These sites are expected to produce about 5 000 flats for sale by 1996–97, with the first flats available in 1995.
Rent Control in the Private Sector
Statutory controls on rents and security of tenure in Hong Kong date back to 1921. The governing legislation is the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance. Parts I and II of the ordinance apply controls over rent levels and give security of tenure in respect of certain domestic tenancies. For nearly all other domestic tenancies, Part IV of the ordinance gives security of tenure, but the tenant must pay the prevailing market rent.
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