Waiting time for Hong Kong public rental flats remains unchanged at 5½ years
Authorities say faster housing of applicants in New Territories counterbalanced by fewer homes available this quarter
The average waiting time for a public rental flat in Hong Kong remained unchanged at 5½ years in the third quarter of 2024, with authorities noting that while applicants were being housed more quickly in the New Territories, fewer homes were available for allocation.
The Housing Authority revealed on Monday the figures for general applicants – families or elderly households – had remained at 5½ years, as recorded previously.
“The unchanged waiting time was mainly because of the relatively shorter waiting time for applicants for flats in the New Territories who were housed at Fu Tip Estate in Tai Po,” the authority said.
It added the number of new public rental housing flats available for allocation in the third quarter was lower than in the previous.
But the number of refurbished flats available was still relatively high due to the efforts to combat tenancy abuse and the completion of several subsidised sale flat projects, the authority said.
The latest figures also showed the average waiting time for individual elderly applicants had decreased to 3½ years from 3.7 years.
