HONG KONG HOUSING AUTHORITY #BBLA★
PRESS RELEASE
新聞稿
Thursday, 23rd September 1976
REMOVAL ALLOWANCES TO BE PAID TO
NEEDY FAMILIES CLEARED AND MOVED INTO PUBLIC HOUSING FOR THE FIRST
TIME
Government has approved payment of an ex-gratia rehousing allowance for needy families, who are cleared and moved into public for the first time.
The category which will benefit are those borderline cases not eligible for public assistance,
The allowance is to help with basic removal and decorating costs and will apply to families with-monthly incomes below $200 per head.
A five-person family would receive $700 under the scheme, plus other payments covering deposits for water and electricity meters, as well as a sum equivalent to one month's rental deposit for their flat. If moving into a new estate such as Lai King, a five-member family would be paid a total of $926, with bigger families receiving increased amounts.
Families which have received cash compensation from Government or from a private landlord at the time of moving into permanent public housing will not be eligible for the rehousing allowance, but victims of fires or other disasters receiving payment from the Emergency Relief Fund will qualify on the grounds that they will probably have lost all their household possessions.
A Housing Authority spokesman pointed out that the new allowances are intended to cover basic moving expenses and such costs as transporting household effects, assistance towards the cost of putting up partitioning and painting a new flat. "This is a further measure by Government to help the under-privileged and give them a better start in their new homes, "the spokesman said. "It follows Government's recent decision to increase the maximum rent allowance payable in public assistance to eligible families."
It is estimated that one in five of all families required to move as a result of future clearances will be eligible for the ex-gratia payments.