Section A: Application for Public Housing, Transfer and Subsidized Home Ownership Schemes Chapter 9: Sale of Flats in the Secondary Market To increase the turnover of public rental housing (PRH) flats and efficiency in the utilization of limited public housing resources, the Housing Authority (HA) established the Secondary Market Scheme (SMS) for Home Ownership Scheme (HOS)/ Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS) flats in June 1997. Starting from the third year [counting from the date of the first assignment signed with the HA (for HOS flats) or the developer (for PSPS flats)] HOS/PSPS flat owners may sell their flats in the Secondary Market to sitting PRH tenants [including tenants of the HA and the Housing Society (HS) as well as authorized occupants of the HA's Interim Housing]*, beneficiaries under the Rent Allowance for Elderly Scheme (RAES), Green Form Certificate holders and Estate Assistants holding a Letter of Assurance issued by the Housing Department. The price is to be negotiated between the selling and buying parties. The original owner will not be required to pay the premium to the HA before selling his/her flat, but the purchaser will inherit the liability to pay the premium should he/she seek to sell the flat in the open market later on. With effect from 15 April 2000, rental flats sold under the Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) and reaching the third year (counting from the date of the first assignment) can also be sold under the SMS.           Eligibility to Purchase an HOS/PSPS/TPS Flat in the SMS 1. Domestic tenants of HA and HS estates, authorized occupants of the HA's Interim Housing (IH) may, upon the endorsement of their eligibility by their estate/IH offices, apply to purchase HOS/PSPS/TPS flats in the SMS. They are required to surrender their existing PRH/IH units upon purchase of an HOS/PSPS/TPS flat.           2. Beneficiaries under HA's RAES are eligible. Their RAES allowance will be automatically ceased upon purchase of an HOS/PSPS/TPS flat.           3. All Green Form Certificate holders and Estate Assistants holding a Letter of Assurance issued by the Housing Department may also apply. They are required to give up their eligibility for allocation of PRH flats after execution of the assignment in a successful purchase deal.     The above applicants must satisfy the following requirements: 1. The applicant must be 18 years of age or above;           2. The applicant and all family members, if married, must apply together with their spouse (with the exception of those who have legal proof of divorce);           3. The applicant or one of his/her family members must have lived in Hong Kong for at least seven years with unconditional stay (except for conditions on the limit of stay). However, domestic tenants of HA/HS estates, authorized occupants of the HA's IH, beneficiaries of the RAES, "Green Form Certificate" holders with rental eligibility and Estate Assistants in possession of a "Letter of Assurance" are not subject to the restriction on length of residence in Hong Kong;           4. The applicant and his/her family members must not breach any terms and conditions of the existing tenancy agreement/licence (applicable only to tenants of HA/HS and licensees of IH).           * Ex-owners of HOS/PSPS flat, ex-Home Purchase Loan/Home Assistance Loan recipients and their spouse are not eligible to purchase an HOS/PSPS/TPS flat in the SMS. Other family members whose deletion from the relevant records has been approved would not be bound by this restriction.

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