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Housing

The Housing Authority's revised estimated housing expenditure in 2015-16 was $30.5 billion, about 6.6 per cent of public expenditure.

Rent Policy

The Housing Authority's long-established policy is to set affordable PRH rents. Its rents include rates, management and maintenance costs, and averaged about $1,880 within the range of $346 to $4,690 per month as at December. Rent adjustments are based on changes in tenants' overall household incomes. The rents are reviewed every two years and the most recent review was completed in July.

Rent Assistance

The Housing Authority's Rent Assistance Scheme offers rent cuts of 25 or 50 per cent to tenants facing temporary financial difficulties. As at end-December, about 16,700 households were recipients.

Better-off Tenants

Higher rents are levied on better-off tenants. At the end of December, about 23,700 households were paying higher rents. Tenants who have lived in PRH for 10 years or more have to declare their household incomes every two years. Those with household incomes exceeding income limits set by the Housing Authority or who choose not to declare their incomes pay additional rent. For households paying double rent, those with total household income and net assets exceeding both the prescribed income and asset limits, or that choose not to declare their household assets, are required to move out.

The Housing Authority endorsed refinements to its Well-off Tenants Policies in December. It will implement the refined policies in October 2017 to further ensure limited public housing rescurces are allocated rationally.

Estate Clearance

In May, the Housing Authority completed moving out or rehousing about 850 people from 504 families living in Long Bin Interim Housing in Yuen Long.

Sustainable Public Housing Stock

The Housing Authority adopts a life-cycle maintenance strategy to keep its public housing stock economically, socially and environmentally sound. Under a Total Maintenance Scheme, it proactively inspects and makes minor repairs or improvements to public rental housing, with about 38,000 flats in 24 estates checked in 2016.

Estates around 40 years old are monitored under the Comprehensive Structural Investigation Programme to ensure they are safe and economically sustainable. The Estate Improvement Programme and lift addition projects are also carried out to provide a good living environment and enhance pedestrian access within estates, respectively.

Allocation

In 2016, about 29,400 PRH flats were allocated for rehousing. Of the total, about 22,400 were allocated to general applicants and to non-elderly one-person applicants under the QPS, and

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