New round of applications for 5,000 temporary public housing flats to start next week
Hong Kong Free Press
A new round of applications for more than 5,000 temporary housing units will open next Monday, with tenants expected to gradually move in from the fourth quarter of this year, the Hong Kong government has said.
The second phase of the Light Public Housing (LPH) scheme will provide around 5,060 flats in four different locations: Kai Tak, Tuen Mun, Kwun Tong, and Sheung Shui, the Housing Bureau said in a statement on Monday.
Monthly rents for the flats will range from HK$860 to HK$3,270, depending on the unit size and the district.
Temporary homes
The LPH scheme was introduced at Chief Executive John Lee’s maiden Policy Address in 2022 as a means to reduce the waiting time for government-subsidised public housing.
Under the means-tested housing scheme, which aims to alleviate the city’s housing crunch as the city works toward phasing out subdivided flats, tenants can live in the prefabricated units for a fixed term of two years.
The temporary home projects offer highly affordable rents “only about 90 per cent of that of traditional public rental housing in the same district,” according to the Housing Bureau.
Applications received during the first round last year will be rolled over, and a second application will not be required, the housing authorities also said.
Those who have been queueing for a public rental unit for more than three years will be eligible for priority application from Monday next week to March 17.
Families in need will be assigned a higher priority for allocation. These include applicants living in inadequate housing, those with special medical conditions, families with young children, newborns, or elderly persons.
About 2,970 units – nearly 60 per cent of the second-phase flats – will be situated at Olympic Avenue in Kai Tak, next to Kai Tak MTR Station, with estimated monthly rents ranging from HK$1,310 to HK$2,990.
Around 1,850 units – located at Tsing Fuk Lane, Tuen Mun, adjacent to the Ching Chung Light Rail station, will have rents ranging between HK$860 and HK$1,990.
The remaining two projects will be renovated from school premises, the housing authorities said.
The Shun On Road project in Kwun Tong will provide about 130 units, with rents ranging between HK$1,360 and HK$3,270. The Choi Yuen Road project in Sheung Shui will offer around 110 units, with rents from HK$1,020 to HK$2,320.
As of the end of September last year, the average waiting time for a public rental unit stood at 5.5 years.
The first phase of the LPH scheme offered more than 4,400 units in two locations, Yau Pok Road in Yuen Long and Choi Hing Road in Ngau Tau Kok.
The Yau Pok Road project will be the first to start accepting residents in batches within March, according to the Housing Bureau’s statement.
The government said it targeted to build around 30,000 LPH units by 2027-28.
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