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Following is a question by the Hon Leung Che-cheung and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (June 19):
Question:
The Rent Assistance Scheme (RAS), which has been implemented by the Hong Kong Housing Authority since 1992, aims at granting relief in the form of rent reduction to domestic tenants in public rental housing (PRH) and licensees in interim housing (IH) who are facing temporary financial hardship. One of the eligibility requirements of RAS is that the size of the flat currently occupied by the applicant must not exceed the maximum allocation standard in respect of his household size (the average living space per person must not exceed the standard). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the total number of RAS applications rejected in the past three years and the reasons for rejection; among such applications, the number of those rejected because the average living space per person had exceeded the standard;
(b) of the present maximum allocation standards applicable to different household sizes; when such standards were set;
(c) of the justifications for the authorities prescribing the average living space per person not exceeding the standard as one of the eligibility requirements of RAS; whether there is any plan to remove such eligibility requirement; if not, of the reasons for that;
(d) whether the authorities will, when allocating flats with an average living space per person exceeding the standard to PRH and IH applicants, remind them that they will thus be ineligible for applying for RAS in future; if they will not, whether the authorities will formulate working guidelines to require their staff to so remind such applicants; and
(e) of the total number of PRH applicants in the past three years who had been allocated flats with an average living space per person exceeding the standard?
Reply:
President,
The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) introduced the Rent Assistance Scheme (RAS) in 1992 to provide temporary relief in the form of a rent reduction to tenants who are facing temporary financial hardship. Eligible public rental housing (PRH) tenants may be granted a rent reduction of either 25% or 50%, depending on their income levels (see Annex for details). Needy tenants may approach their respective estate offices to apply for the RAS. The Housing Department (HD) will consider the merits of each RAS application in accordance with the relevant eligibility criteria.
My reply to the questions raised by the Hon Leung Chi-cheung is as follows:
(a) Under the existing arrangement, upon receipt of an application for RAS from tenant, irrespective of whether it is made verbally or in writing, estate staff of the HD would conduct preliminary vetting on the eligibility of the applicant. If there is prima facie evidence that the household meets the RAS eligibility criteria, estate staff of the HD will request the applicant to furnish information by completing an application form for further vetting of the eligibility. If the applicant finds that he/she does not meet the eligibility criteria, in the vast majority of the cases, he/she would withdraw his/her application. It is therefore very rare that an application for RAS will be rejected by HD. Hence, the HD does not keep record on the number of RAS applications rejected and the reasons for rejection.
(b) to (d) To optimise the use of PRH resources, the HD allocates different types of design of PRH flats and different internal floor areas (IFA) based on a range of entitlement. For example, a one-bedroom flat in a 'New Harmony' block (with an IFA of about 30 m2) can be allocated to households of three to four persons; a two-bedroom flat in a 'New Harmony' block (with an IFA of about 40 m2) can be allocated to households of four to five persons, etc. The actual IFA of the flat allocated to an applicant will be determined by the supply and demand of flats suitable for allocation to each individual's particular family size in the chosen district at the time of allocation. In addition, for applicants who can demonstrate that they have special social and/ or medical reasons to support allocation of additional living space, every effort is made to provide the additional space necessary as far as resources permit.
At the time when the RAS was introduced, the HA decided to adopt the allocation ranges as one of its eligibility criteria so as to ensure the rational allocation of public housing resources and fairness to other PRH tenants and Waiting List (WL) applicants. PRH tenants occupying flats exceeding the allocation ranges are already enjoying a higher level of PRH subsidy as compared with tenants occupying flats that comply with the allocation ranges. Given the resources constraint, should a tenant wish to apply for rent assistance, the HD must consider their individual circumstances carefully. If they apply for the RAS on compassionate grounds, the HD will exercise discretion to consider their applications on individual merits. The HD may arrange transfer to a flat not exceeding the allocation ranges and with lower rental for these households. An information leaflet on the RAS and its application criteria has been uploaded to the HA's website for public information. Should tenants have any query on the RAS, they are welcome to make enquiry to the HD.
The HD will generally allocate PRH flats according to the established allocation ranges. For individual tenants who were allocated flats exceeding the allocation ranges but subsequently need to apply for the RAS, the HD will consider their applications on individual merits and may refer cases to the relevant government department(s) for appropriate assistance.
We will closely monitor the operational effectiveness of RAS and review the eligibility criteria of RAS from time to time, in order to meet the changing socio-economic conditions and tenants' requests.
(e) Allocation of PRH is based on allocation ranges for different types of PRH flats instead of a fixed living area per person mechanically. According to the current allocation policy, WL applicants with family members who are not temporarily wheelchair-bound; requiring Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis treatment at home; suffering from Tetraplegia or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; or pregnant for 16 weeks or more will be counted as having an additional member for flat allocation purpose. Excluding these cases, the numbers of WL applications being allocated flats exceeding the normal allocation ranges in 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13 were 31, 15 and 8 respectively. These cases are those with medical and/ or social reasons and are recommended by relevant departments (e.g. Social Welfare Department) or organisations (e.g. Hospital Authority) as in need of additional living space.
Ends/Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:43
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