Policy Address
Cash Allowance Trial Scheme
94. While the Government will continue to adopt a multi-pronged approach to increase housing supply, an unprecedented trial scheme has been endorsed to provide cash allowance for grassroots families which have waited for PRH allocation for a prolonged period of time so as to relieve their pressure on livelihood. Under the trial scheme, eligible General Applicant households (i.e. families with two or more persons and elderly one-person applicants) which are not living in public housing, not receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) and have been waiting for PRH for more than three years without being given the first flat offer will be provided with cash allowance. According to preliminary estimates, around 90 000 General Applicant households will benefit from the trial scheme. The Government is working out the implementation details of the scheme, and aims to start receiving applications in mid-2021 and disbursing cash allowance from July onwards.
Study on Tenancy Control of Subdivided Units
95. One of the controversies of providing cash allowance to families waiting for PRH who are living in private properties, especially in SDUs, is the lack of adequate protection for such tenants. I agree that this issue needs to be examined. The Task Force for the Study on Tenancy Control of Subdivided Units (the Task Force) was set up in April this year and three dedicated working groups were established in July to explore such issues as the social, economic and legal aspects related to SDUs and consultants were appointed to undertake research studies. The Task Force is collecting views of various sectors on whether and how tenancy control of SDUs should be implemented, and strives to complete the study in the first quarter of 2021 and submit its report to the Government for consideration.
