ENG-1980 — Page 143

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HOUSING AND LAND

both types of housing, and these met with an overwhelming demand that has not diminished over the years. As a result, the Resettlement Department and the Housing Authority were amalgamated in 1973 into a new Housing Authority to oversee the new housing programme. A total of 26 estates all of them self-contained communities

have so far been built under this programme and today more than two and a quarter million people, or about 40 per cent of the population, live in public housing of one sort or another provided or subsidised by the government.

The Housing Authority

The Hong Kong Housing Authority, established under the Housing Ordinance 1973, is a statutory body responsible for co-ordinating all aspects of public housing. The Housing Authority advises the Governor on housing matters; plans and builds public housing estates for categories of people determined with the approval of the Governor; manages public housing estates throughout the-territory including cottage areas, temporary housing areas and transit centres; clears land for development; and controls squatting. In addition, in 1977 the Housing Authority was invited, on behalf of the government, to plan, build and subsequently manage flats provided under the Home Ownership Scheme. Legal powers to carry out these functions are provided by the Housing Ordinance.

The Housing Authority is chaired by the Secretary for Housing and comprises 13 unofficial members (eight of whom are Urban Councillors), and six official members. All members are appointed by the Governor. The Housing Authority is responsible for its own finances and management. Under revised financial arrangements drawn up in 1977, the Housing Authority is no longer required to pay any premium for land granted by the government for public rental housing. However, land value is written into the Housing Authority's balance sheet as a government contribution. Loans from the Development Loan Fund for new buildings are repaid over 40 years, with a notional five per cent interest shown in the authority's balance sheet as a government contribution. Capital funding for the public housing programme - now set at a production target of 35,000 flats a year is provided through the Government Budget, which contains a four-year expenditure forecast rolled forward annually. The government has emphasised that the rate of production is not a maximum target and that, when economic circumstances permit, expansion can be considered.

Construction

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The current government housing programme aims at producing 180,000 flats, for rent and for sale, over the next five years. Some 37 building contracts were let during 1980 at a cost of $3,224.5 million. At the end of the year, 55 building contracts, including 15 for Home Ownership Scheme projects, were in progress to provide 77,800 flats over the next three years.

Home Ownership Scheme

To meet the community's growing aspirations for home ownership, the government has established a scheme that enables lower-income families to buy their own flats at reasonable prices. Run by the Housing Authority, the scheme has already provided cost-price homes for some 8,300 families and a further 50,000 flats are scheduled to be built this decade. Plans are also underway to provide a similar limited scheme for middle-income earners who can neither qualify for the Home Ownership Scheme nor afford flat prices on the open market.