ENG-2000 — Page 259

HOUSING

willing to live together may apply under the Elderly Persons Priority Scheme, and be allocated flats within two years.

To help low income elderly households living in non-self-contained private flats or temporary structures, the Government pledged in the 2000 Policy Address to encourage and help eligible elderly people to apply for public housing. All eligible elderly households which submit applications by the end of March 2001 will be offered public rental flats by the end of 2003.

The Senior Citizens Residence Scheme is an innovative housing scheme for the elderly under which the HKHS will build community-based housing developments comprising self-contained units with specialised support facilities and services for 'lease-for-life' to middle income senior citizens. Two sites in Tseung Kwan O and Jordan Valley have been allocated to the HKHS. Applications for the flats will be invited in 2001.

To enable the private sector to make the fullest possible contribution towards meeting the demand for housing, a pilot scheme is being developed to encourage the private sector to provide affordable housing to elderly persons.

Cottage Areas and Squatters

Cottage Areas consist mainly of single-storey structures built of stone or less permanent materials on hillsides. There are four Cottage Areas housing about 1 300 people. These will be cleared within 2001.

The numbers of squatters and squatter structures have fallen in recent years as a result of rehousing and clearance programmes. There are now about 20 300 squatters in the urban area and about 206 200 squatters in the New Territories. Squatter control is maintained by regular patrols and hut-to-hut checks. About 2 000 illegal structures and extensions were demolished during the year.

Rooftop Structures

Rooftop dwellers are encouraged to register on the Waiting List for public rental housing. No persons affected by the demolition of rooftop structures are left homeless. They are rehoused in public rental housing or interim housing according to eligibility.

The Buildings Department conducts regular clearances of unauthorised structures built on rooftops of tenement buildings.

Interim Housing

Interim housing provides accommodation to people who are rendered homeless for one reason or another but are not eligible for permanent public housing. There are three types of interim housing: multi-storey vertical interim housing converted from redeveloped blocks in some older estates, prefabricated interim housing blocks, and a new form of multi-storey vertical interim housing in Tuen Mun and Tin Shui Wai. These high-rise blocks will meet the continuing, long-term need for such accommodation.

Transit centres provide free emergency shelter for the homeless, including victims of fire and natural disasters, pending assessment of their eligibility for rehousing to permanent or interim housing. The Housing Department manages three transit centres with a total capacity of 861 places.

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