HOUSING
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arrangement will make a significant contribution to increasing home ownership in Hong Kong.
Since January 1998, 107 900 flats have been offered for sale, and 70 596 households have bought flats under the scheme.
Single Persons
In 1999, the HSLS was extended to cover single persons. To cater for increasing demand, the HKHA has, since December 1999, also allowed White Form singleton applicants to buy HOS and PSPS flats or to join the HPLS. So far, 7 384 single persons have successfully purchased flats under the HOS and PSPS, and 909 have obtained HPLS loans/subsidy.
Mortgage Subsidy Scheme
The Mortgage Subsidy Scheme was implemented in September 1998 to promote home ownership among tenants affected by the HKHA's Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme and households affected by Cottage Area clearance exercises. Under the scheme, eligible applicants buying HOS or PSPS flats are given a mortgage subsidy of up to $162,000 over a period of six years. So far, 3 350 households have bought homes with this subsidy.
Buy or Rent Option
The Buy or Rent Option (BRO) was launched by the HKHA in July 1999 to allow prospective public rental housing tenants the option of buying rental flats when their turn comes for flat allocation. This initiative is also open to tenants affected by redevelopment and clearances as well as eligible junior civil servants. An eligible purchaser may opt to receive a mortgage subsidy of up to $162,000 over a period of six years. In 2001, about 500 eligible BRO applicants received mortgage subsidies to buy their homes. So far, about 2 000 households have benefited from the scheme.
Moratorium on Sales of Home Ownership Scheme Flats
As a result mainly of economic factors including low property prices and a decline in interest rates, a significant overlap has emerged between the target group of HOS flats and that of the private sector residential market. In September 2001, the Government announced a moratorium on the sales of all subsidised home ownership flats until the end of June 2002. Sales of these flats after the moratorium will not exceed 9 000 units a year up to 2005-06. In line with this decision, 12 000 additional loans were made available by the HKHA to replace an equal number of flats originally planned for sale over the period. During the period of the moratorium, the Government and the HKHA will address three longer-term issues, namely, the ratio between home ownership flats and loans, the eligibility criteria for subsidised home ownership, and the system for allocating sites for subsidised flats for sale. In line with the Government's moratorium, the HKHS also suspended .the sale of unsold Sandwich Class Housing Flats.
Public Rental Housing
At present, about 2.12 million people or 31.35 per cent of Hong Kong's population live in public rental housing estates managed by the HKHA or the HKHS. It is the Government's policy to ensure that these flats are allocated to families in genuine