ENG-2008 — Page 260

204 Housing

A new income-based rent adjustment mechanism for public rental housing was introduced under the Housing (Amendment) Ordinance 2007 which came into operation on January 1, 2008. The new mechanism provides for both upward and downward rent adjustments according to changes in tenants' household incomes. The first public rental housing rent review will be conducted in 2010. Subsequent reviews will be conducted every two years thereafter.

Rent Assistance

The Rent Assistance Scheme (RAS) was introduced by the HKHA in 1992 to provide assistance to public housing tenants facing temporary financial hardship. The scheme had been revised several times in past years to make assistance more readily available to needy tenants. Currently, eligible tenants are offered rent cuts of 25 per cent or 50 per cent and the length of time families need to live in the newer blocks. before applying for rent assistance has been shortened to two years. As at December 2008, about 11 480 households were receiving RAS.

Better-off Tenants

Under existing regulations, better-off tenants are required to pay higher rents. At the end of December, about 24 420 households were doing that. In addition, tenants who have lived in public housing estates for more than 10 years will have to move out if their household incomes and assets have exceeded the Subsidy Income Limits and Net Assets Limits set by the HKHA. Those who choose not to declare their household assets will have to move out as well. During the year, about 560 better-off households who acquired their own flats under various subsidised home ownership schemes returned their public rental housing flats to the HKHA.

Redevelopment

Preparatory work was carried out in 2008 to move some 3 200 families from Lower Ngau Tau Kok (11) Estate to the new Upper Ngau Tau Kok Estate. A vast majority of tenants will start moving out in May 2009. Lower Ngau Tau Kok (II) is the last estate to be cleared for redevelopment under the HKHA's Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme. Since the start of the programme in 1988, 559 housing blocks have been redeveloped, improving the living conditions of some 188 300 households.

Estate Clearance

The two-phase clearance of So Uk Estate is continuing. The rehousing of tenants under Phase 1 will be completed in April 2009, while all Phase 2 tenants will be rehoused by April 2012. Some 13 400 people from 5 000 families are involved and about 3 400 families (including both Phase 1 and Phase 2 tenants) were rehoused up to the end of 2008.

Clearance of Block 22, Tung Tau (1) Estate which started in January this year, will be completed by 2012, involving about 1 400 people from some 900 families.

Clearance of Interim Housing Block 12 at Kwai Shing East Estate which started in July 2008, will be completed in 2010, involving some 600 people from about 200 families.