Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Thursday, Oct 03, 2024

HK$780 rent for new Hong Kong public flats; 10,000 homes to be built in Kai Tak

HK$780 rent for new Hong Kong public flats; 10,000 homes to be built in Kai Tak

Another 13,000 flats in Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun, Chai Wan and Siu Lam under second phase will be completed before the second quarter of 2027.

The monthly rent for a temporary public flat under a new housing scheme will start at HK$780 (US$99), while more than 10,000 homes to be completed in four years will be located in a prime urban site in Hong Kong, according to authorities.

The Housing Bureau on Monday revealed that the prime Kai Tak site, which was near a new shopping centre and a 10-minute walk from the closest MTR station, would account for the bulk of the 17,000 flats to be completed in the first phase of the “light public housing” scheme, confirming an earlier Post report.

About 2,100 homes at a rural site next to Fairview Park in Yuen Long will be completed within two years. The remaining 14,900 flats in Kai Tak and two other sites in Tuen Mun and Choi Wan will welcome occupants before the second quarter of 2027.


An aerial view of Olympic Avenue in Kai Tak, a site earmarked for the government’s light public housing scheme.

Another 13,000 flats in Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun, Chai Wan and Siu Lam under the second phase of the project will be completed before the second quarter of 2028, according to the bureau.

Monthly rent for a 140 sq ft flat under the scheme will start at HK$780, while the largest home measuring 330 sq ft that could fit up to five occupants will cost up to HK$2,650. Housing Secretary Winnie Ho Wing-yin said it would result in substantial savings for those renting a subdivided flat, which had a median rent of HK$5,000.

Ho described the HK$26.4 billion scheme as an investment in the future that would free those in need of housing from the harsh living conditions of subdivided flats.

“Light public housing is not a simple public works project. It will change the fate of a group of people. It provides flats and a good living environment so that they can feel at ease and have their own space to live and study in,” she said.

A mock-up of a 330 sq ft temporary public flat.


Unlike the city’s long-standing rental housing scheme, light public housing is made up of buildings that will be used for five or more years to provide a bridging option for those waiting for a permanent subsidised home.

Ho emphasised that all eight sites under the project would retain their planned uses after being cleared of the buildings for the scheme.

The 5.7 hectare (14 acre) site in Kai Tak, for instance, has been reserved for commercial use and is surrounded by upscale residential developments. Lawmakers and real estate developers have expressed concerns the new flats might undermine Kai Tak’s position as an emerging business district.

But Ho pointed out that the idle plot was only partly being used for bus parking at the moment. “Instead of parking vehicles, let it serve a more socially meaningful purpose,” she said.

Each flat will come with a bathroom and kitchen fittings, including a water heater, but air conditioners will not be provided.

Ho acknowledged that the decision to exclude air conditioners from the flats accounted for about a fifth of the entire scheme’s HK$1 billion cost reduction, which was made to address lawmakers’ concerns over the original HK$27.4 billion price for the short-term housing initiative.

Proposed by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his maiden policy address last year, the scheme is only available to current public housing applicants who have spent more than three years waiting for a permanent home.

By the end of last September, about 234,600 applicants were on the waiting list for public flats, with an average waiting time of 5.6 years, according to the Housing Authority.

Families will have priority in securing the temporary homes, though only about 30 per cent of the flats are designed for households of more than two people.

Occupants will eventually be offered a regular public housing flat. During a radio interview earlier on Monday, Ho said households who rejected the offer three times will be dropped from the waiting list and would no longer qualify for living in the temporary flats.

The government will seek at least HK$14.9 billion in its first funding request to the Legislative Council.

Legco housing panel deputy chairman Leung Man-kwong, who toured a mock-up flat on Monday, said he was still concerned about whether the more remote locations would be appealing to residents, despite the authorities’ promise to add dedicated minibus and bus services.

Leung also urged authorities to build more of the larger flats and adopt a design that could combine two smaller homes into one big one to meet the needs of larger families.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×