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The following is issued on behalf of the Housing Authority:
The rents for about 20,000 public rental housing (PRH) flats in the Housing Authority's (HA) eight new estates scheduled for completion in early 2008 will be fixed based on the reduced district best rent levels.
The reduced district best rent levels, which were endorsed by the authority's Subsidised Housing Committee, were in line with the authority's earlier decision to apply an across-the-board rent reduction for all existing PRH estates in August, a spokesman for the HA said today (November 3).
Following the passage of the Housing (Amendment) Ordinance 2007 on June 13, which enables the establishment of a new income-based rent adjustment mechanism, the Housing Authority adopted a uniform rate of 11.6% rent reduction in accordance with the extent of changes in the public rental household income index since 1997 as a starting point for the new mechanism to operate effectively and fairly. Correspondingly, the district best rents for newly completed PRH estates would also be reduced by 11.6%.
The reduced inclusive best rent at $56 per square metre per month for flats in urban district would apply to the 716 Non-standard flats at Oi Tung Estate Phase 5, 3,995 New Harmony flats at Choi Ying Estate Phases 1 & 2, 1,598 Non-standard flats at Yau Lai Estate Phase 3, 3,196 New Harmony flats at Un Chau Estate Phase 2 and 337 Converted Housing for Senior Citizens flats at Un Chau Estate Phase 4.
The rent for the 1,598 New Harmony flats and 385 Annex Block flats at Kwai Chung Estate, Kwai Chung and 2,333 Non-standard flats at Mei Tin Estate Phase 3, Sha Tin, will be $54.10 per square metre per month.
The 1,598 New Harmony flats at Ching Ho Estate Phase 2, Fanling, will be $39.60 per square metre per month. The 3,836 Non-standard flats at Tin Ching Estate Phases 1 & 2, Tin Shui Wai will be $37.30 per square metre per month. (See table for the rents for the eight new estates.)
"Under this rent fixing exercise, more than 83% of the flats are set at a rent level below $1,800 per month," the spokesman said, adding that public housing rents, inclusive of rates, management and maintenance costs, were heavily subsidised.
The spokesman said that the first rent review cycle for these new estates would tie in with the review cycle of the entire PRH stock to be conducted in January, 2010.
Noting that the rent levels were within the prospective tenants' affordability, the spokesman said that low-income households who could not afford the rents of the new flats would be offered refurbished flats in older estates where they could immediately apply for the Rent Assistance Scheme.
The spokesman explained that rents of new estates were fixed according to the best rent of each district which was determined having regard to the location and value of the estate concerned.
"Given the staggered completion of new PRH estates, we will continue conducting two rent fixing exercises each year for new estates," the spokesman said.
Ends/Saturday, November 3, 2007
Issued at HKT 11:01
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