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The following is issued on behalf of Housing Authority:

The Home Ownership Committee of the Housing Authority today (Thursday) approved the selection of six public rental housing estates to be included in Phase 5 of Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) scheduled for sale in 2002.

A total of 26,000 flats in Tung Tau (II), Pok Hong, Tsui Ping (North), Lei Cheng Uk, Tai Ping and Kwai Hing Estates will be sold to sitting tenants at discounted prices. These estates were built between 1982 and 1994 and included Trident and other contemporary block types such as slab, linear and H blocks.

A spokesman for the Authority said that the criteria for selection include age and type of blocks, maintenance condition, geographical distribution, and interest and financial capability of tenants for purchase.

The selection for Phase 5 has been built upon the principle laid down by the Authority in December 1997 that the initial focus of flats for sale should be estates built between 1985 and 1992 predominantly Trident blocks.

The spokesman said: "The wider range of block types and age of blocks adopted in Phase 5 is necessary since all estates within the initial age focus have been listed for sale under TPS Phase 1 to 4,"

"The Authority believes that blocks other than Trident may also be popular, depending on location and other factors, as reflected in the response from tenants in Phase 1 estates."

The spokesman added that buyers should not be over concerned about maintenance responsibilities for older blocks since a Maintenance Fund would be set up by the Authority in each of the TPS estates. A seven-year structural guarantee will also be provided.

The latest selection also intends to widen the geographical spread of estates. "For example, Lei Cheng Uk Estate is included as no estate in Sham Shui Po has been selected for sale so far. Tai Ping Estate in Fanling and Kwai Hing Estate in Tsuen Wan are selected to extend TPS in a balanced way to as many districts as possible."

TPS was approved in December 1997 to provide public housing tenants an extra rung on the ownership ladder. In the first year, 74 per cent of 27,000 units in Phase I have been sold.

Applications for Phase 2 are scheduled to begin later this month. A three-year rolling programme for TPS is maintained to enable forward planning and give advance notice to prospective purchasers. It is intended that the programme be extended annually with further phases of about 25,000 units.

END/Thursday, March 11, 1999

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