Editorial | Rent rises required to build more Hong Kong housing
- The Housing Authority will need more money if the Hong Kong government is to meet its accommodation targets for the less well-off
From public rental leases to subsidised home purchases, the Housing Authority has an important role in providing affordable accommodation. The job is not easy, though.
As Hong Kong’s biggest landlord and property developer, it is also struggling to maintain healthy finances to fulfil its mission amid economic fluctuations.
The authority has signalled the need for rent increases, despite a small surplus of HK$174 million (US$22.2 million) in 2023-24 rental operations and an overall surplus of HK$15 billion. The body fears a deficit of more than HK$4 billion in its rental operations in four years’ time if no adjustments are made.
Income from the sale of subsidised flats is also expected to fall next year.
Officials would not be drawn on the size of the increases at this stage, saying they would be carried out according to the standing mechanism, which takes into account changes in household incomes over the years. Given the economy is gradually recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and jobs and incomes have stabilised, such adjustments are not unreasonable.