HOUSING
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provide public housing at reasonable rents to those who cannot afford any other type of housing; and
implement initiatives to address the housing requirements of groups in special need.
Organisational Framework
Housing Bureau
The Secretary for Housing has overall responsibility for setting government policy on the provision of housing in the public and private sectors in Hong Kong; oversees public housing programmes; facilitates and monitors the operation of the private housing market; and ensures the provision of sufficient land and infrastructure to meet housing targets. He is assisted by staff in the Housing Bureau.
Housing Authority
The Housing Authority (HA) is a statutory body and the Government's agent responsible for implementing the majority of Hong Kong's public housing programmes. Established in 1973, the HA plans and builds public sector housing, either for rent or sale. It manages public rental housing estates, Home Ownership Scheme courts, interim housing, Cottage Areas, transit centres and flatted factories, as well as commercial and other community facilities within public housing estates. Increasingly, it has contracted out the management of these facilities to private agencies. It also administers the Private Sector Participation Scheme and the Home Purchase Loan Scheme, and acts as the Government's agent to control illegal squatting. The Housing Department is its executive arm.
Housing Society
The Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) is an independent non-profit-making organisation established in 1948, which plans and builds quality housing for rent or sale, through its Flats for Sale Scheme and Sandwich Class Housing Scheme, to specific target groups at affordable rents or prices. To assist first-time home buyers, the HKHS administers the Home Starter Loan Scheme on behalf of the Government. The HKHS also assists in the redevelopment of old buildings in urban areas through its Urban Improvement Scheme.
Housing Demand
Housing demand varies according to economic conditions and population fluctuations, as well as policy decisions which may create housing needs (for example, the pace of squatter clearance). Taking these factors and past trends into account, the Government has devised a housing demand model to assess and update the demand for different categories of housing. This demand model shows that with an average population growth rate of 1.6 per cent a year for the period 1997-98 up to 2006–07, the estimated flat requirement over the period is in the order of 80 000 new flats a year. The Government will update this projected flat requirement regularly. The Government also carries out a survey of household aspirations to help update the forecast of housing demand.