Hong Kong urged to offer well-off tenants priority ‘carrot’ to buy subsidised flats

Call made after authorities announce plan to raise rent and evict wealthier tenants from public rental flats

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Under the Home Ownership Scheme, 40 per cent of subsidised flats are reserved for households with elderly members and families with newborns. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 12:32pm, 24 Mar 2025Updated: 8:52pm, 24 Mar 2025

Well-off Hong Kong public housing tenants should be given priority to buy subsidised homes as an incentive to move up the housing ladder, a lawmaker and a concern group have said, after authorities announced a plan to increase rent and evict wealthier households.

Lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok, a member of the Legislative Council’s housing panel, on Monday called on authorities to offer well-off tenants the “carrot” of priority to encourage them to own homes.

Under the Home Ownership Scheme, 40 per cent of subsidised flats are reserved for households with elderly members and families with newborns. These groups will also be given priority when it comes to selecting homes.

“We can consider the current policies for buying subsidised housing, for example prioritising families with elderly or young couples with children. Can we extend these benefits to well-off tenants?” Lo, also a Housing Authority member, told a radio show.

“However, there also needs to be a balance between benefiting the richer tenants and those waiting to purchase subsidised flats. I believe the Housing Authority will take these into consideration.”

The Housing Authority has approved the government’s plan to raise the rent of well-off tenants in public flats by up to 2.25 times the existing amount. Photo: Nora Tam

Man Yu-man, chairman of the Federation of Public Housing Estates, agreed these advantages could encourage wealthier tenants to buy homes.