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    Flat owners under The Sandwich Class Housing Scheme must pay a land premium before they can dispose of their flats, a spokesman for the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau said today (July 16).

    ?This is stated in the land lease and the agreement governing the sale and purchase for these flats,? he said.

    ?As flats sold under this scheme are subsidized housing flats, owners are expected to live in their units and they are not allowed to sell or rent out their flats unless they have paid back the government subsidy in the form of land premium,? he said.  

    The spokesman added that at the time of purchase, each owner and his family had signed a statutory declaration undertaking to reside in the unit.

    ?Government?s policy is very clear on these requirements to ensure that housing subsidies are put to proper use,? he said.

    The spokesman was speaking in response to press enquiries on claims by the Sandwich Class Housing Coalition that there were no provisions in the relevant clauses prohibiting the owners from renting out their units without paying land premium after the first five-year period.

    The Sandwich Class Housing Scheme was established in 1994 to provide subsidized sale units to meet the housing needs of the middle-income group.

    Over 7,000 units in 10 projects have been sold to eligible persons at discounted prices before the conclusion of the scheme in 2000.

Ends/Saturday, July 16, 2005

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