Policy Address

VIII. Improve People's Livelihood in Pursuit of Happiness

(A) Housing: Continuously Enhance Speed, Quantity, Quality and Efficiency

Increase Public Housing Supply

157. Housing is an issue of great public concern. Despite the relatively slow pace of creating land for housing development in the past, the problem of back-loaded public housing supply has started to turn around through the unremitting efforts of the Government. While we have identified land for providing sufficient public housing units to meet the long-term demand and enhanced the speed as well as efficiency of housing development, land creation and housing construction take time. To bridge the short-term supply gaps in these few years, I announced in 2022 the introduction of the innovative LPH with the provision of 30 000 units, in order to reduce the Composite Waiting Time for Subsidised Rental Housing (CWT).

158. This measure has been bearing fruit. Coupled with LPH, the total public housing supply in the coming five years (2025-26 to 2029-30) will reach 189 000 units, which is about 80% higher than that of the first five-year period since the current-term Government took office (2022-23 to 2026-27). In the past two years, the average waiting time for PRH dropped by half a year, from the peak of 6.1 years to the current 5.5 years. Following the gradual completion of LPH next year, the CWT could be shortened by one and a half years to 4.5 years in 2026-27.

159. I am eager to house PRH applicants as early as possible. The Advance Allocation Scheme I proposed when I took office has so far helped more than 2 000 families move in their flats five to nine months in advance, saving nearly $50 million of rental expenditure on the part of the beneficiaries. By 2027-28, about 10 000 additional units will be completed, enabling PRH applicants to move in earlier than originally anticipated.

160. In addition, the first batch of some 2 100 LPH units, located on Yau Pok Road, Yuen Long, will be completed for intake in the first quarter of next year. We expect to complete a total of about 9 500 units next year, moving towards the target of completing about 30 000 units by 2027-28.