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Following is a question by the Hon Alan Leong and an oral reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (June 14):
Question:
In March this year, the Housing Authority further relaxed the eligibility for rent assistance ("RA"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the current numbers of RA applications being processed and public rental housing ("PRH") tenants receiving RA, with a breakdown of the latter by the rate of rent reduction granted;
(b) the estimated number of PRH tenants currently eligible for RA and, among them, the percentage of those who are receiving RA; and
(c) the total number, since the implementation of the RA Scheme, of RA recipient tenants who have been asked to move to units in older-type blocks which charged lower rents?
Reply:
Madam President,
Public housing tenants in economic distress can seek rent relief through two different channels. First of all, the Government¡¦s Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme provides cash allowance to families without income or in need of long-term assistance. In most cases, the rent allowance under CSSA is adequate to cover public housing rent in full.
On the other hand, tenants who are beset with temporary financial hardship and have difficulty in affording normal rents can apply for rent reduction under the Housing Authority¡¦s Rent Assistance Scheme, which is an additional safety net outside CSSA. Tenants are eligible for the Scheme if their rent takes up more than 20% of their income, or if their income is below 60% of the Waiting List income limit. Depending on their actual household income, they may be given 50% or 25% rent reduction. All elderly households are given 50% rental reduction.
It is estimated that about 130 000 public housing tenants are receiving CSSA as at May 2006, while some 13 000 tenants are receiving Rent Assistance. Together they account for 22% of the total number of public rental housing households.
My reply to the three-part question is as follows:
(a) As at June 5, 2006, 13 078 tenants were on Rent Assistance. Of them, 12 717 tenants were given 50% rent reduction and 361 were given 25%. At present, 579 applications are being processed.
(b) The Housing Department does not keep records on the income of public housing tenants and hence cannot accurately work out the exact number of tenants eligible for Rent Assistance. Last year, when considering proposed relaxations of the Rent Assistance Scheme, the Housing Authority made reference to statistics on public housing residents released under the General Household Survey undertaken by the Census and Statistics Department in order to assess the financial implications of the proposals. It was then roughly estimated that about 148 000 tenants would be eligible for Rent Assistance upon relaxation of the eligibility criteria.
(c) The Rent Assistance Scheme is aimed at providing quick relief to help tenants tide over their temporary financial hardship. For non-elderly tenants who still need Rent Assistance after a continuous period of three years, the Housing Department will discuss with them to see whether it is better for them to move to more affordable flats or apply for CSSA for longer-term financial assistance.
Since introduction of the Rent Assistance Scheme in 1992, a total of five families had moved to more affordable flats in the same district after receiving Rent Assistance for three years. Of them, four moved to flats with space provision commensurate with their household size within the same estates. Two of them are still receiving Rent Assistance. The remaining family moved to a suitable flat in another estate within the same district, and is no longer receiving Rent Assistance.
Ends/Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:53
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