ENG-2017 — Page 238

Chapter 12

Housing

The government's policy objectives are to help grassroots families secure public rental housing to meet their basic housing needs; provide subsidised sale flats to build a progressive housing ladder; and maintain the healthy and steady development of the residential market, giving priority to Hong Kong permanent residents' needs.

The Secretary for Transport and Housing oversees housing matters, assisted by the Director of Housing, and is also the Hong Kong Housing Authority's chairman.

The Housing Department has both policy and operational responsibilities for providing public rental housing (PRH). It offers secretariat and executive support to the Housing Authority and its committees. As the Transport and Housing Bureau's housing arm, it also monitors the private market, ensures home buyers have access to accurate, comprehensive and transparent transaction information and oversees policy matters involving the regulation of estate agents.

The Housing Authority is a statutory body that implements most public housing programmes. It provides PRH to low-income families which cannot afford private rental accommodation and subsidised sale flats to low- to middle-income families. It also runs interim housing and transit centres for families facing short-term problems in finding suitable accommodation.

Hong Kong had about 2,764,800 flats as at end-December, comprising about 808,300 public rental units', 404,500 subsidised sale flats2 and 1,552,000 private-sector flats. About 29 per cent and 16 per cent of the population live in public rental units and subsidised sale flats respectively. The Housing Authority's revised estimated housing expenditure in 2016-17 was $29.5 billion, about 5.9 per cent of public expenditure.

Long Term Housing Strategy

The government adopts a supply-led principle according to its Long Term Housing Strategy to address the supply-demand imbalance.

1 Including PRH and interim housing flats under the Hong Kong Housing Authority and rental flats under the Hong Kong.

Housing Society.

2

Excluding 322 flats provided by the Urban Renewal Authority on a one-off basis in 2015-16..

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