Housing Authority approves extension of rent concession for its eligible non-domestic tenants
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To tie in with the Government's latest relief measures to sustain the support for businesses and individual sectors as announced by the Financial Secretary on August 25, 2021, the Hong Kong Housing Authority's (HA) Commercial Properties Committee (CPC) today (September 3) approved the further extension of the existing 75 per cent rent concession for HA's eligible non-domestic tenants/licensees, including carpark users for monthly parking of commercial vehicles, for a further six months from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022.
The CPC also approved that, during the above-mentioned rent concession period, HA's eligible non-domestic tenants/licensees may continue to apply to the HA for 100 per cent rent concession for the days during which their operations at the premises concerned are required to be closed under anti-epidemic regulations and directions of the Government.
Taking into account the need to ensure prudent use of HA's resources, the CPC approved that supermarkets/superstores would be subject to tenants' application and production of proof of sales drop in this round of extension of rent concession.
"Our observation is that supermarkets/superstores have been able to sustain good business during the epidemic as the demand for daily goods and foodstuff has remained high," a spokesman for the HA said.
"If tenants of supermarkets/superstores suffer a sales drop during the extended rent concession period compared with that of the same period in the preceding year, rent concession at the same percentage, capped at 75 per cent, will be provided to them upon their application and production of proof of the sales drop," he added.
The spokesman also said that the HA would continue to adopt a flexible approach in dealing with tenancies which expire before the end of the extended rent concession period as a transitional arrangement.
"To enable tenants to continue their use and occupation of the premises upon tenancy expiry, licences will be granted at the existing rent pending agreement to the new rent for the new tenancies," he said.
" Apart from the arrangement for tenants of supermarkets/superstores, the same arrangements and coverage as endorsed by the CPC earlier will continue to apply during this round of extended rent concession period."
Starting from October 2019, the CPC has approved six rounds of rent concessions for the HA's eligible retail, factory and non-domestic tenants to complement the Government's measures to support enterprises and relieve people's financial burden.
It is estimated that a total of around 10 100 HA's non-domestic tenants/licensees, comprising about 2 500 retail and 3 300 factory tenants/licensees, tenants/licensees of some 70 advertising signboards and some 40 tenancies of bus kiosks, as well as about 4 200 carpark users, will benefit from this round of rent concessions.
The spokesman said that the rent foregone for this round of extension of 75 per cent rent concession for six months is estimated to be around $660 million.
"The total rent foregone for rent concessions granted by the HA to its eligible non-domestic tenants/licensees for the 30-month period from October 1, 2019, to March 31, 2022 is estimated to be around $2,946 million," he added.
Ends/Friday, September 3, 2021
Issued at HKT 14:00
Issued at HKT 14:00
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