Types
Public housing estates in Hong Kong may be rented or sold under various government subsidy programmes, and are generally subject to a range of restrictions and eligibility requirements. They also vary in scale, and are built and managed under the responsibility of the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society. According to the 2006 census, 3.3 million people or 48.8 percent of the population of Hong Kong lived in rental or subsidized-sale public housing; within that group, 31 percent lived in public rental housing, 17.1 percent lived in Housing Authority subsidized-sale flats and 0.7 percent lived in Housing Society subsidized-sale flats.
- Public Rental Housing estates are the most numerous type of public housing estates, and are rented at discounted rates to low-income residents. They may be managed by either the Hong Kong Housing Authority or the Hong Kong Housing Society. Low-income eligibility criteria for public rental and subsidized-sale flats vary between families, the elderly and individual applicants.
- Home Ownership Scheme estates are subsidized-sale public housing estates for low-income residents, usually built adjacent to or within Public Rental Housing and nearly identical in construction. They are managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority and are earmarked for sale to low-income qualifiers at prices which are heavily discounted from market value, and the land value is similarly subsidized. The mortgage and resale of these units in the second-hand market are likewise restricted to eligible low-income residents. Within a public housing estate development, some blocks may be designated by the Authority exclusively for rental while others may be earmarked for sale.
- Tenants Purchase Scheme allows existing tenants in the rented public housing estates of the Hong Kong Housing Authority to purchase their flats. As in the Home Ownership Scheme, the sale prices are set much lower than the market prices of private flats due to subsidies and restriction on selling. The Flat-for-Sale Scheme was managed by Hong Kong Housing Society and operates in a similar manner as the Tenants Purchase Scheme and the Home Ownership Scheme, making flats available for sale at concessionary prices.
- Flat-for-Sale Scheme (Chinese: 住宅發售計劃) is a housing development scheme by Hong Kong Housing Society in 1980s. The flats under the scheme are for sale at concessionary price. It is similar to Home Ownership Scheme by Hong Kong Housing Authority. The first of such estate was Clague Garden Estate in Tsuen Wan.
- Sandwich Class Housing Scheme estates were built for sale to lower-middle and middle-income residents, known as the sandwich class, who did not qualify for low-income public housing in the Home Ownership Scheme but still had trouble affording private housing. Managed by the Hong Kong Housing Society, the quality and market positioning of Sandwich Class Housing were significantly higher than public housing estates and comparable to some middle-class private developments. These units were sold at levels that were slightly below market value and came with a five-year resale restriction. Construction of Sandwich Class Housing Scheme estates ended in 2000 due to changes in the housing market.
- Interim Housing is temporary public rental housing for those who are awaiting placement into public housing estates or are not immediately eligible for flats in public housing estates. Interim Housing often accommodates residents who have been displaced by disaster, fire, redevelopment or other reasons. Some of the housing reuse old blocks in public housing estates while others use pre-fabricated building components.
Read more about this topic: Public Housing In Hong Kong
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