Hong Kong Housing Authority and Housing Department

As at end-June 2024, the average waiting time* for general applicants who were housed to PRH in the past 12 months has dropped by 0.2 years to 5.5 years, among which, the average waiting time for elderly one-person applicants has dropped by 0.1 years to 3.7 years. In the second quarter of 2024, about 7 000 general applicants were housed to PRH, the largest number of flats allocated since the third quarter of 2022. About 900 of these flats were allocated to elderly one-person applicants. Separately, about 500 non-elderly one-person applicants under the Quota and Points System were housed to PRH in the same quarter.

In this quarter, 4 400 general applicants were housed to new PRH flats in Fu Tip Estate in Tai Po, Cheung Tsing Estate in Tsing Yi and Yip Wong Estate in Tuen Mun. Amongst these flats, those in Cheung Tsing Estate and Yip Wong Estate were under the “PRH Advance Allocation Scheme”, which had adopted a phased completion approach. As compared with the completion date of the entire development project, the relevant projects were completed in advance by nine months and five months respectively, allowing PRH applicants to be housed earlier. With our efforts to expedite the allocation of new PRH flats, coupled with the fact that the average waiting time of PRH applicants for flats in the New Territories is relatively shorter, the relatively shorter waiting time of the above-mentioned PRH applicants was reflected in the average waiting time in this quarter. As a result, the average waiting time in the second quarter of 2024 has dropped by 0.2 years to 5.5 years correspondingly.

Furthermore, with the enhanced effectiveness of the Housing Department’s in combating tenancy abuse and following the completion of a number of subsidised sale flats (SSFs) projects by the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA), such as Ching Fu Court in Tsing Yi, Yu Tak Court in Sha Tin, Kai Cheung Court and Kai Chuen Court in Diamond Hill and Kam Chun Court in Sha Tin, and PRH tenants who had purchased the above-mentioned SSFs gradually vacated their PRH flats after intake, the number of refurbished flats available for allocation to PRH applicants has stayed at a relatively high level.

Looking ahead, a number of HA’s new PRH projects will be completed gradually and intake at some Home Ownership Scheme and Green Form Home Ownership Scheme projects will also take place in this year and the coming year.  Together with our continuous efforts to combat tenancy abuse, we will endeavor to provide PRH flats for allocation by adopting a three-pronged approach.   It is expected that the average waiting time in the next two to three quarters will be benefited from the relatively shorter waiting time of the large number of applicants housed to Fu Tip Estate in Tai Po over the past two quarters.  As such, the average waiting time will remain stable or even decrease slightly in the second half of 2024.

With the increase in PRH supply in Tuen Mun, Tung Chung and New Territories North in 2024/25, and in Kwun Tong, Kwu Tung North, Fanling North and Sheung Shui, etc in 2025/26 as well as the completion of 30 000 Light Public Housing units starting from early 2025, the overall public housing supply will register an obvious increase.  We are confident that the target to reduce the “Composite Waiting Time for Subsidised Rental Housing” to around 4.5 years in 2026/27 will be achieved.

During this transition period, the Government will continue to develop transitional housing (TH) for providing short-term accommodation to those in need (including those on the PRH waiting list).  The sites identified by the Government are set to deliver over 21 000 TH units, exceeding the original target of 20 000 units.  As at end-June 2024, in addition to the about 15 800 units which have been put into service, close to 5 400 units are expected to be available this year and during the next two years.  For the summary of transitional housing projects, please refer to the relevant webpage on the Housing Bureau’s website.

As at end-June 2024, there were about 123 100 general applications for PRH, and about 91 500 non-elderly one-person applications under the Quota and Points System.

*The average waiting time is calculated as the average of the waiting time of those general applicants who were housed to PRH in the past 12 months, it is not applicable to non-elderly one-person applicants under the Quota and Points System. Waiting time basically refers to the time taken between registration for PRH and first flat offer, excluding any frozen period during the application period (e.g. when the applicant has not yet fulfilled the residence requirement; the applicant has requested to put his/her application on hold pending arrival of family members for family reunion; the applicant is imprisoned, etc).  If applicants take into account their waiting time under the Quota and Points System or their frozen period, they may perceive a longer waiting time than the average waiting time as announced by HA.

Composite Waiting Time for Subsidised Rental Housing

For the new index of “Composite Waiting Time for Subsidised Rental Housing” announced by the Chief Executive in the 2022 Policy Address, please refer to the relevant webpage on the Housing Bureau’s website.