HOUSING
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.
Housing the Elderly
Under the Housing for Senior Citizens Scheme, introduced in 1987, more than 3 604 housing units have been provided for able-bodied elderly persons aged 60 years or over who are self-reliant and independent. A warden service is provided to deal with emergencies. As a priority scheme, elderly couples or single elderly persons applying in groups of two or more are normally allocated public housing in approximately two years. In 1996, 1 340 people were rehoused under this scheme and 658 flats were allocated. Persons requiring a higher level of health care are referred to the Social Welfare Department for transfer to more suitable housing. Since June 1994, priority for public housing has been given to families applying with elderly parents or dependants. So far, 2 174 families have benefited from this scheme. New housing for the elderly continues to be built on small urban sites over the next few years. In the period from 1996-7 to 2000-1, the Housing Authority will provide 52 000 flats suitable for small households, including flats designed for the elderly.
Community Liaison
The Housing Authority has established five Housing Information Centres. In addition to outreaching services such as organising visits, talks and exhibitions on housing for the elderly, these centres provide comprehensive advisory services to residents affected by redevelopment of private buildings or urban renewal projects, and to applicants for public housing and Home Ownership Scheme flats. The authority also plans to set up information centres in districts with a high concentration of elderly residents in old private tenements in a bid to provide better services.
Assisted Home Purchase
Home Ownership Scheme and Private Sector Participation Scheme
The Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) was introduced in 1978 to provide flats for sale to lower and middle-income families and public housing tenants at prices well below market value. About 230 000 flats have so far been sold to eligible families. These include 69 704 flats produced under the Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS), which makes use of the resources of the private sector to produce flats for sale at subsidised prices. Private sector applicants are not allowed to own domestic property within two years prior to the submission of their applications and are subject to a household income limit of $26,000 a month. These restrictions, however, do not apply to public housing tenants, residents of temporary housing areas and cottage areas managed by the authority, households displaced by the clearance of squatter areas for development, natural disaster victims and junior civil servants.
To encourage upward mobility, public housing tenants are given higher priority than private sector applicants in selecting HOS flats, receiving about two-thirds of the total number available. About 40 per cent of the families who bought property under the schemes were public housing tenants who surrendered their rental flats in return
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