************************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Housing Authority:
Rents for 3,252 flats in the Housing Authority's (HA) two new public rental housing (PRH) estates to be completed in December this year will be set at the reduced district best rent levels.
The reduced best rent at $56 per square metre per month for flats in urban districts will apply to the 1,278 flats in two housing blocks at Shatin Pass Estate in Wong Tai Sin.
The rent for the 1,974 flats in three housing blocks at Shin Ming Estate in Tseung Kwan O will be set at $49 per square metre per month.
"Under this rent fixing exercise, more than 92% of the flats are set at a rent level below $2,000 per month," a spokesman for the HA said today (May 24), adding that PRH rents, inclusive of rates, management and maintenance costs, were heavily subsidised.
With the passage of the Housing (Amendment) Ordinance in June 2007, the HA implemented a rent reduction of 11.6% in August of the same year. The best rent levels for all districts have also been reduced by 11.6% correspondingly.
"Low-income households who cannot afford the rents of the new flats will be offered refurbished flats in older estates completed before 1992 where they can also apply for the Rent Assistance Scheme immediately," the spokesman added.
Ends/Monday, May 24, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:26
NNNN
