New policy will force out 1,200 of Hong Kong’s most well-off tenants in 4 years

Nearly 1,200 of the most well-off tenants in Hong Kong’s public rental flats will be forced out in four years’ time even if they are willing to pay higher rents, in a more aggressive move by the government to prevent abuse of housing resources, the Post has learned.

However, those tenants would be eligible to apply for subsidised homes in the next four years as green form applicants after they left, under a new policy proposed by the Housing Bureau, to be announced on Friday, sources said.

Green form applicants are tenants who give up their right to live in public homes and as a result only need to pay 5 per cent of a subsidised flat’s value as a down payment.

“The purpose of the proposed policy is to further prevent abuse of public housing resources, and to encourage the upward mobility of tenants who are now much better off,” an insider told the Post.

The new measures are part of a more aggressive move by the authorities to tighten rental requirements for well-off tenants, which will see them paying significantly higher rents.

Currently, tenants whose income has increased to two times the income limit have to pay 1.5 times the basic rent, while those whose income has increased by more than three times but less than five, will see their rent rise to two times the basic requirement.