Hong Kong to study reviving public housing sale scheme for tenants

Hong Kong will launch a study next year to assess whether to bring back a scheme that helps current public housing tenants buy their rental flats, with polls covering tenants and families on the waiting list.

Officials faced mounting calls for relaunching the Tenants Purchase Scheme at a Legislative Council housing panel meeting on Monday, with some legislators saying the move could help boost social stability by raising Hong Kong’s home ownership rate.

Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said the government recognised the merits of the scheme but careful consideration was needed to address issues that surfaced when the measure was first introduced in the late 1990s.

She told the panel that the government would take a broader view in addition to listening to the opinions of sitting public tenants.

“We are aware of the views of public housing tenants. But there are also other views about whether it is a good way to handle public assets,” Ho said.

“There are several issues we have to consider carefully if the scheme is to be implemented again, like how the prices of the flats should be set, the need to address property management problems [due to mixed ownership of a block], and the criteria under which public housing blocks should be selected for sale.”