Home Ownership Scheme - Resale

Resale

Public housing units in Home Ownership Scheme housing estates are subject to sale restrictions of the Housing Ordinance. The Home Ownership Scheme Secondary Market is only open to eligible low-income residents and low-income tenants of rental public housing. Three years after being assigned HOS public housing units, owners are allowed to obtain a certificate from the Housing Authority to place their homes in the HOS Secondary Market, without paying the subsidised land premiums (normally 35–50 per cent discount to the prevailing market). Owners who have sold their HOS public housing units will no longer be eligible for any form of public housing. In general, they are allowed after five years to apply to place their homes in the HOS Secondary Market without the paying subsidised land premium, or to apply for removal of sale restrictions by first paying the full subsidies and the land premiums to the Housing Authoritiy, as decided by the Director of Housing.

In 2002, developers complained of weakness in property prices, claiming the housing marketplace was largely distorted by excessive unfair competition from schemes such as the HOS. It was pointed out that a public rental tenant moving into a second-hand Home Ownership Scheme flat would receive three lots of subsidies. Government halted the PSPS, developments which were in progress at the time were either transformed into public housing, or sold off to private developers. Construction of new HOS estates was suspended in November 2002, and it was also announced that the TPS would end.