LCQ19: First year special credit period of the Tenants Purchase Scheme
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Following is a question by Hon Lau Kong-wah, and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Mr Dominic Wong, in the Legislative Council today (December 19):
Question: The Hong Kong Housing Authority has so far launched four phases of the Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS). According to the information released by the authority concerned, public rental housing (PRH) tenants who purchase their flats within the first two years from the launch of each phase of the TPS are entitled to a discount, with a higher discount rate being offered within the first year. However, it is learnt that the concession period for the first year discount (FYD) in TPS Phase 4 launched in February this year is less than 12 months. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the beginning and expiry dates of the concession periods for FYD in the first three phases of the TPS;
(b) of the reasons for setting a concession period of less than 12 months for the FYD in TPS Phase 4, and whether it will consider extending that period to 12 months; and
(c) whether a concession period of 12 months for FYD will be set for the future phases of TPS?
Reply
Madam President,
The announcement and launch dates of the first four phases of the Tenants Purchase Scheme and the expiry dates of the First Year Special Credit Period are as follows :
|
|
Announcement date |
Launch date |
Expiry date of First Year Special Credit Period |
|
Phase 1 |
22 December 1997 |
26 January 1998 |
31 December 1998 |
|
Phase 2 |
4 February 1999 |
19 March 1999 |
31 March 2000 |
|
Phase 3 |
6 January 2000 |
18 February 2000 |
31 December 2000 |
|
Phase 4 |
4 January 2001 |
14 February 2001 |
31 December 2001 |
For Phase 4, the estates for sale were announced in 1998 under a three-year rolling sales programme. Since tenants were also individually informed before the formal launch of sales to ensure that they would have sufficient time to make a decision, the Housing Authority does not plan to extend the First Year Special Credit Period.
The purpose of the First Year Special Credit Period is to encourage sitting tenants to make an early decision. The arrangement of allowing 10 to 12 months will continue for future phases of the Tenants Purchase Scheme.
End/Wednesday, December 19, 2001
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