Housing Bureau announces Composite Waiting Time for Subsidised Rental Housing has dropped by around five months to 4.7 years, marking lowest record in over eight years
******************************************************************************************
CWT shortened 1.5 years to 5.0 years for first time in comparison to 6.1 years before current-term Government
This record is calculated based on general applicants (i.e. family and elderly one-person applicants) that were housed to public rental housing (PRH) or Light Public Housing (LPH) in the past 12 months as at end-March 2026. Compared with the highest level of 6.1 years before the current-term Government took office, the CWT has been shortened by nearly one and a half years, and has fallen below 5.0 years for the first time.
8 400 general applicants housed with nearly half in LPH
"In the first quarter of 2026, we have succesfully arranged a total of about 8 400 general applicants to be housed to PRH or LPH, including about 1 200 newly completed PRH flats, about 3 300 recovered PRH flats, and about 3 900 LPH units. Nearly half (47 per cent) of them were housed to LPH units, which is significantly higher than the proportion in the last quarter (16 per cent)," said the spokesman for HB.
Waiting time for LPH only three years on average
"The waiting time of general applicants who were housed to LPH in the past 12 months is only 3.0 years on average. Since the waiting time of general applicants housed to LPH is obviously shorter, the increased proportion of LPH has effectively led to a decrease in the overall CWT. In fact, the waiting time for PRH units in the urban district in the past 12 months was about six years, while the waiting time for LPH units in the New Territories was only about two years, with a difference of four years. We hope that families in need will make the most appropriate decision for their family members, particularly for the health of elderly members and the growth of children," said the spokesman for HB.
Current average quarterly supply more than doubled that of three years before current-term Goverment
In fact, since the first LPH project began allocation in March 2025, the Government's overall supply of subsidised rental housing has increased to about 7 500 units per quarter, which is more than double the average quarterly supply of about 3 500 units during the three years before the current-term Government took office (i.e. from 2019-20 to 2021-22), showing that the supply has significantly increased. This fully highlights the original policy intent of the LPH to promptly assist residents in alleviating their hardships, which has not only played a key role in shortening the waiting time for PRH, but also improved the living conditions and quality of life of low-income families. Furthermore, as compared with subdivided units, residents who are housed to LPH can also save an average of over $50,000 in rent per year, which can be accumulated as family savings to plan for a better future.
Further reductions in PRH waiting queue with general applications significantly reduced by more than 30 per cent over past 5 years or so
In addition, with the Government's multipronged approach to expedite the turnover of PRH flats, the number of PRH general applicants has further decreased. As at end-March 2026, there were about 103 400 general applications for PRH, and about 81 100 non-elderly one-person applications under the Quota and Points System. As compared with the highest level of 156 400 cases and 143 700 cases of general applications and non-elderly one-person applications, the application number reduced significantly by more than 30 per cent and over 40 per cent respectively. Among them, the number of non-elderly one-person applicants aged below 30 recorded an even sharper decline of about 60 per cent over the 10-year period, from about 71 300 as at end-March 2016 to about 29 500 as at end-March 2026, clearly demonstrating that the PRH waiting queue is being reduced.
Slight fluctuations expected in near term amid PRH completion peak over next five years
As the number of general applicants to be housed to PRH or LPH in the next quarter may be lower than this quarter, the CWT in the next quarter is expected to slightly fluctuate; it is nevertheless anticipated to be capped at 5.0 years, indicating that the CWT is still on a downward trend.
Looking ahead to the next five years starting from 2026-27 onwards, the overall public housing production (including LPH) will be about 196 000 units, over 80 per cent higher than when the current-term Government took office. Among them, about 115 000 PRH flats will be completed during this period, reaching the peak in supply. In respect of LPH, about 9 650 units have been completed and have now been fully occupied as at the first quarter of 2026, and about 20 150 and 200 units will be successively completed in the remainder of 2026 and early 2027 respectively, gradually moving towards the target of completing the construction of about 30 000 LPH units by 2027-28.
CWT entering new stage and moving towards 4.5 years target
Under the current-term Government's unremitting efforts to "enhance speed, quantity, quality and efficiency" over the past four years, the back-loaded situation has been completely reversed by the public housing production. This shift has enabled faster fulfilment of the housing needs of low-income families. The CWT will move towards the target of reducing it to 4.5 years in 2026-27.
Ends/Thursday, May 14, 2026
Issued at HKT 14:36
Issued at HKT 14:36
NNNN