Policy Address
II. Housing
10. Housing is the toughest livelihood issue facing Hong Kong society. It is also a source of public grievances. I have never taken this matter lightly.
- After taking office, I immediately defined the positioning of our housing policy, indicating clearly that housing is not simply a commodity and that our community has a rightful expectation of the Government to provide adequate housing. This is also fundamental to social harmony and stability. Therefore, the Government has an indispensable role to play in this area.
- I understand that some families living in public rental housing (PRH) aspire to be home owners. I have therefore regularised the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) to provide subsidised sale flats (SSFs) that specifically cater for PRH tenants. About 2 500 flats were sold last year.
- Given the high property prices which make it difficult for middle-income families to become home owners, I am aware of their demand for SSFs. I have therefore regularised the White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM) and increased the quota gradually.
- I learnt that young professionals, with monthly salaries in the tens of thousands, are frustrated by the fact that they are unable to buy flats from the private housing market when market prices are often over $10,000 per square foot. I therefore proposed the introduction of Starter Homes (SH) for Hong Kong Residents and converted the private residential project of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) at Ma Tau Wai Road into an SH Pilot Project for sale.
- We have proposed legislation to levy “Special Rates” on vacant first-hand private residential units to encourage developers to expedite the supply of completed flats, in order to reduce hoarding.
