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Following is a question by the Hon Albert Chan Wai-yip and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, in the Legislative Council today (July 7):
Question:
I have recently received complaints from quite a number of members of the public, who pointed out that while they were successfully registered on the Waiting List (WL) for public rental housing (PRH) units in the New Territories four years ago, they are still waiting for the Housing Department to handle over 40,000 applications with higher queuing numbers ahead of their applications before it is their turn to undergo the income-cum-asset test. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the current number of applications on the WL for PRH units in the New Territories and, among them, the number of applications in which the applicants have already waited for more than three years, together with a breakdown by the district chosen by such applicants;
(b) of the respective numbers of PRH units in the New Territories which were built and completed in each of the past five years; and
(c) whether it will consider expediting the construction of more PRH units in the New Territories, so as to meet the rapidly growing demand for PRH within the district; if it will, of the details, if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the question is as follows:
(a) The waiting time refers to the time between the date of first registration until flat offers, but excluding the duration of cases being frozen during the application period, such as the applicants have not yet fulfilled all the requirements, say in respect of the residence rule, etc. The waiting time for public rental housing (PRH) may vary from time to time, depending on the number of applications for and supply of PRH flats in the District, etc. PRH applicants can choose among the four Waiting List (WL) Districts (Note 1), namely Urban, Extended Urban, the New Territories and the Islands. To ensure rational and effective allocation of limited public housing resources, in general, applicants cannot specify the location or estate within the WL District, save for applications with individual special circumstances and referred by the relevant department or organisation. Therefore, we do not have a breakdown of the number of applicants who have waited more than three years on a district basis.
As at the end of May 2010, out of a total of about 132,000 live applications on the WL, there were about 25,000 applications (or 19%) applying for rehousing in the New Territories (NT). Among the 25,000 live applications applying for rehousing in the NT, some 2,980 applications had waiting time of over three years but no flat offer had been given. Out of these 2,980 applications, the vast majority (2,900 applications) were Quota and Points System (QPS) (Note 2) applications. Only some 80 applications (or around 0.3% of all live applications applying for rehousing in the NT) were ordinary family applications in the NT queue with waiting time over three years without any flat offer. The relative priority in allocation for QPS applicants depends on the points they receive. For the 2,900 QPS applications, the QPS applicants concerned have relatively lower points. As for some 80 (or 0.3% of all live applications applying for rehousing in the NT) ordinary family applications waiting for flats in the NT for three years without flat offer, the relatively longer waiting time is mainly due to individual reasons such as changes in the circumstances of the applicant during application (such as a change in the household size), or the applicant, due to individual special social or medical grounds, has obtained the recommendation of the relevant department (e.g. Social Welfare Department) or organisation (e.g. the Hospital Authority) for a specific estate where the availability of suitable flats is low (the applicant will be informed of such situation).
(b) The annual PRH flat production in the NT* for the past five years is as follows:
Year/Flat production NT Territory-wide
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2005/06 0 unit 17,200 units
2006/07 2,400 units 7,200 units
2007/08 5,400 units 13,700 units
2008/09 3,200 units 19,100 units
2009/10 2,400 units 15,400 units
* NT refers to the North District, Tai Po, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and Sai Kung (excluding Tseung Kwan O)
In addition to new flat production, the number of PRH flats recovered is also an important source of public housing supply.
(c) The public housing construction programme in the coming five years has generally been firmed up. Most of the projects are either at the construction or advanced detailed design stage. In this light, there would not be any major change to the overall flat production and the construction timetable.
In order to meet the target of maintaining the average waiting time for PRH at about three years, the Government and the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) will continue to identify suitable sites for PRH development in different regions, including the NT. The HA regularly monitors the land and flat supply as well as the public demand for PRH.
Note:
1. WL applicants with the application registration date or equivalent registration date after September 30, 2006 can only opt for non-Urban Districts.
2. The Hong Kong Housing Authority introduced the Quota and Points System for Non-elderly One-person Applicants (QPS) in September 2005 to rationalise and re-prioritise the allocation of public rental housing (PRH) units to non-elderly one-person applicants. The relative priorities for PRH allocation to applicants under the QPS are determined by the points the applicants receive according to the points system. Points are assigned to the applicants on the basis of their age at the time of submitting the PRH applications, their waiting time and whether they are living in PRH. In general, the older the applicants, the higher the points they receive. The higher the number of points accumulated, the earlier an applicant will be offered a PRH flat. The target to maintain the average waiting time at around three years is applicable to general WL applicants, but excluding non-elderly one-person applicants.
Ends/Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Issued at HKT 12:38
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