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The following is issued on behalf of the Housing Authority :
Elderly tenants deleted from public rental housing (PRH) tenancies upon their admission to residential care homes for the elderly (RCHE) will be guaranteed their return to PRH should the need arise in the future.
The Housing Authority's Subsidised Housing Committee today (March 30) endorsed that with immediate effect, a Letter of Re-instatement would be issued to the elderly tenants on request following the deletion of their names from the tenancies.
"This can ease their worries of not being able to return to their homes in PRH estates should their health permit them to do so in the future," a spokesman for the Housing Authority said.
Since 1999, elderly tenants were required to delete their names from PRH tenancies upon their admission to care homes within three months. Many of them and their family members however refused to do so fearing they could not return to PRH once their names were deleted, the spokesman said, adding that a dispute among family members might sometimes occur subsequently.
"To support the government policy of 'Ageing in Place' for the elderly and foster harmony for families in PRH estates, it is opportune to enhance the arrangement," the spokesman said.
For elderly tenants agreeing to deletion, the Housing Department has recently extended the response period from three months to six months for the households to sort out their family arrangements and ensure whether the elderly could adapt to the new environment in the care homes.
As for elderly sole tenants whose flat will be recovered upon their admission to the care home, the current practice of issuing them Letters of Assurance will be maintained to guarantee their future rehousing eligibility.
The Subsidised Housing Committee also endorsed the move to allow elderly people to apply for permission to retain their names in the tenancies, if supported by good reasons.
"Elderly people will be required to state clearly the reasons for making the applications. No action will be taken to delete their names until the department received further notification from them or upon circumstances changed," the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the Housing Department has also extended the processing period from one month to three months for deletion of deceased persons from tenancy records.
Ends/Friday, March 30, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:02
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