ENG-2003 — Page 256

HOUSING

loan or monthly mortgage subsidy, to those who cannot afford to buy a reasonable flat in the private market.

The HKHA will conduct a review of the future of the HALS in the light of enhanced affordability of eligible HALS applicants as a result of availability of competitive mortgage loans in the market and the downward adjustment of property prices since the HALS was conceptualised.

Housing for Groups in Special Need

The Elderly

An elderly person who prefers to live alone can apply under the Single Elderly Persons Priority Scheme and be allocated a public rental flat within three years. The Government has pledged to reduce the average waiting time of elderly singletons who wish to live by themselves to two years by 2005. Two or more elderly persons who are willing to live together may apply under the Elderly Persons Priority Scheme, and be allocated flats within two years.

There are two priority schemes for public rental flats which encourage households to live with and take care of their elderly members. Applicants with elderly parents or dependent relatives aged 60 or above under the Families with Elderly Persons Priority Scheme are allocated flats three years in advance at most of normal allocation in the district of their choice. Alternatively, they may also apply under the Special Scheme for Families with Elderly Persons for two separate flats in the same estate in new towns two years at most in advance of normal allocation.

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 help eligible elderly people to apply for public housing. All eligible elderly households. which submitted applications by the end of March 2001 have been offered public rental flats by the end of 2003.

Under its Senior Citizen Residences Scheme (SEN), the HKHS has been implementing two projects, one in Tseung Kwan O and the other in Jordan Valley, for developing purpose-built housing with integrated health care facilities for senior citizens in the middle-income group. The units in the projects are to be leased to eligible senior citizens on a 'lease-for-life' basis, thereby providing security of tenure in line with the concepts of 'healthy ageing' and 'ageing in place'. The project in Tseung Kwan O was completed in late 2003, whereas the one in Jordan Valley is expected to be ready for occupation around mid-2004.

Squatters

The numbers of squatters and squatter structures have been reduced in recent years as a result of rehousing and clearance programmes. There are now approximately 216 600 people living in about 7 200 squatter structures in the urban areas and about 389 900 squatter structures in the New Territories. Squatter control is maintained by

6 The three forms of financial assistance available under HALS are as follows-

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(1) Basic loan repayable over 20 years (2) Higher loan repayable over 13 years (3) Monthly mortgage subsidy for 48 months

Family rate $390,000

Singleton rate $195,000

$530,000

$265,000

$3,800

$1,900