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Housing
The HKHA also offers accommodation to people whose squatter huts or rooftop structures are cleared by the Government, provided they meet certain conditions, and about 120 such people were rehoused in 2012.
Home Ownership
Home Ownership Scheme (HOS)
In response to the aspirations of low and middle-income families for home ownership, the development of the HOS is now firmly part of the Government's housing policy. The Government plans to provide about 17,000 HOS flats over four years from 2016-17 onwards and thereafter an annual average of some 5,000 HOS flats. The Government has commenced the preparatory work for the first batch of 2,100 HOS units, which will be completed in 2016-17, and can be released for pre-sale by the end of 2014.
To address the pressing home ownership needs of the community, the Government has also decided to release all of the remaining 832 Surplus HOS flats for sale in March 2013. Arrangements under the traditional HOS (including those on the setting of flat prices, premium payments, domestic property restrictions and income and asset limits for White Form applicants, mortgage guarantees and resale restrictions) will be used for the sale of the remaining Surplus HOS flats and future HOS flats. At the same time, an interim scheme, with an annual quota of 5,000, will be open for application in 2013 to allow people with White Form status to purchase HOS flats with premium not yet paid on the HOS Secondary Market before the first batch of new HOS flats are completed in 2016-17.
Housing for People with Special Needs
Single elderly persons can apply for public rental housing under the Single Elderly Persons Priority Scheme. Unrelated elderly persons who wish to share a flat may do so under the Elderly Persons Priority Scheme. The average waiting time for public rental housing for single elderly applicants was about 1.4 years as at September 2012. The Harmonious Families Priority Scheme, introduced in 2009, encourages families to live with, and to take care of, their elderly relatives in public rental housing estates.
Completion of Housing Units
Some 21,300 residential units were completed in 2011-12, of which about 10,100 were private housing flats (excluding village houses) and around 11,200 public housing flats of the HKHA.
Supporting Infrastructure
The infrastructure to support housing development is provided in a programmed and structured manner. To avoid delays in housing development caused by a lack of infrastructural facilities, the Government has adopted a fast-track approach to address possible problems. As at December 2012, there were nine such projects in different stages of implementation, with an estimated combined cost of about $5.5 billion.
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