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The following is issued on behalf of the Housing Authority:
The Subsidised Housing Committee (SHC) and the Commercial Properties Committee (CPC) of the Housing Authority (HA) have approved the passing on of the rates concession for 2010/11, a proposal by the Financial Secretary in his Budget speech in February, to its domestic and non-domestic tenants.
"For domestic tenants, the apportioned amount of concession will be transferred to the tenants on a monthly basis from April 2010 to March 2011 by offsetting an equivalent amount in the rent payable by the tenants," a spokesman for the HA said today (March 29).
For tenancies that do not cover the whole month, the transfer of the rates concession will be made on a pro-rata basis.
"The transfer arrangement will also apply to Interim Housing licensees paying licence fees," the spokesman said, adding that all sitting tenants and licensees have already been individually informed of the arrangement.
"For non-domestic tenants/licensees, the rates concession will be passed on to them on a 'no-loss-no-gain' principle. They will be exempted from paying the monthly rates from April 2010 to March 2011, for exclusive and inclusive lettings alike, subject to the capping limit of $1,500 per quarter for each rateable tenement. Letters will be sent to the non-domestic tenants/licensees notifying them of the concession amount," the spokesman said.
For the three single-operator markets held by the HA in Kwai Chung, Lei Muk Shue and Tin Yan, the operators have agreed to pass on the rates concession to their licensees in full.
Carparks, however, would not be included in this exercise because of the significant administrative cost involved, the spokesman said.
"The rates concession received by the HA on carparks, about $2 per parking space per month, will be expended on enhancing the carpark facilities, such as security installations and lighting facilities," he said.
The total amounts of rates concessions to be passed on to domestic and non-domestic tenants/licensees are estimated to be about $1,301 million and $29 million respectively.
Ends/Monday, March 29, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:35
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