
Express Flat Allocation Scheme (2025)-Updates
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The public rental housing(PRH) flat selection exercise for EFAS(2025) will commence on 2 September 2025. The first batch is for household of two-head or above and the second batch is for one-person applicants. Housing Department (HD) will, based on the district and type of the remaining flats, invite applicants in batches for flat selection according to their flat selection priority, choice of districts and type of flats. A “Letter of Notification for Flat Selection” will be mailed to each applicant about one week prior to their scheduled flat selection date, subject to availability of suitable flats for selection. HD reserves the right to change or postpone the date of flat selection. The above arrangements made by the HD shall be final. If the flat selection exercise cannot be conducted as scheduled, a notice will be published on the Housing Authority (HA) / HD website. Applicants who have received a "Letter of Notification for Flat Selection" will be informed individually. |
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Please click the following link for the flat selection date for a household with two or more persons (subject to updates): Flat selection date for a household with two or more persons |
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Please click the following links for ‘Flats available for Flat Selection’ (the latest flat lists will be uploaded after 6 p.m. of each flat selection day. The flat list display in the flat selection room shall always prevail. If the lists could not be updated due to technical problems, applicants may contact the hotline for enquiry.): Flats available for Flat Selection (Housing for Senior Citizens Units) |
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Please click the following link for “Flat Selection Arrangements during Tropical Cyclones / Rainstorms / Extreme Conditions”: Flat Selection Arrangements during Tropical Cyclones / Rainstorms / Extreme Conditions |
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Please click the following link for the ‘Application Guide for EFAS’ : |
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To optimize the flat selection process and enhance user experience, the EFAS (2025) has fully adopted digital display screens to show the list of available flats for selection, replacing the traditional paper-based display method. Applicants invited to participate in the flat selection can now view the latest available flat information in real-time through on-site digital display screens. |
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Additionally, to facilitate applicants in preselecting their preferred flats, the EFAS (2025) has introduced a new "Wish List" function. Eligible applicants who have been allocated a flat selection date may preselect their desired flats* prior to the commencement of the formal selection process. For details, please refer to the following section. *All units added to the "Wish List" are for reference only and do not represent successful selection of the flat by the applicant. |
EFAS Applicants may follow the procedures below to enquire about their application status and use the "Wish List" function:
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Click the quick link "e-Services for Public Rental Housing Application" on this page, you will be directed to the respective portal. |
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To enquire about your EFAS application status, you must have a registered "e-Services for Public Rental Housing Application" If you have not registered before, please click "Login/Register" at the upper right corner, then click "Register" to register for an "e-Services for Public Rental Housing Application" account. You may then use your e-Services account to login. If you are ex-users of "e-Services for Applicants", you can input PRH Application No. and old password for the first time login. If you are user of "iAM Smart", you can log in "iAM Smart" Mobile App. |
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After log in to the "e-Services for PRH Application" account, select "Enquire Application Status". |
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If you have joined the current EFAS exercise, you can enquire about your application status by clicking "EFAS (2025)". During the flat selection period, applicants holding valid EFAS application can enquire about the list of remaining flats available for selection. |
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After the list of flats available for flat selection is uploaded, applicants who have been allocated a flat selection appointment date can log in to the "e-Services for Public Rental Housing Application" and use the "Wish List" function. Please click the link below for details: |
Highlights of EFAS
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Under the EFAS, eligible PRH applicants may have an earlier chance to be allocated PRH units. |
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The EFAS is launched subject to the availability of housing resources and conducted in mode of self-flat selection. Most flats to be included for selection are less popular PRH flats. There is no locality restriction for EFAS applicants. Eligible applicants can select only one flat from the list of remaining flats available for selection in accordance with the number of authorised members in their PRH applications and the allocation standard of individual flats. |
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As there are a large number of applicants for the EFAS while the number of flats available for selection is limited and the flats are unevenly distributed across various districts, HD cannot guarantee that all applicants will be invited for flat selection or be able to successfully select a flat. HD will only invite applicants for flat selection provided that there are flats available in their selected districts and/or flat types. |
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If the applicant’s eligibility for PRH has yet to be verified after the flat selection, HD will immediately appoint a date of the detailed vetting interview for the applicant. In general, the interview will be conducted within one month, counting from the date of flat selection. If the applicant (and the authorised person who attended the flat selection session on behalf of the applicant) fails to make the appointment date of the detailed vetting interview right after the flat selection, the application for the EFAS will be immediately cancelled and the selected flat will not be reserved. Based on the principle of optimising public housing resources, HD will not consider the requests of the applicant (and the authorised person) for postponing the interview for more than two months, counting from the date of flat selection. The applicant and his/her family member(s) reaching the age of 18 (if any) included in the PRH application must attend the interview as scheduled and complete the required procedures in person; otherwise, the application for the EFAS will be cancelled and the selected flat will not be reserved. Under normal circumstances, applicant whose eligibility for PRH has already been confirmed will receive the “offer letter” in about one month, from the date of the letter that confirmed his/her eligibility for PRH or the date of “Undertaking for Flat Selection Exercise”, whichever is later. Applicants are required to complete the intake formalities at the respective estate office on the date specified in the letter. Based on the principle of optimising public housing resources, HD will not consider the applicant’s request for postponing the date of issuance of the “offer letter”. |
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Based on the principle of optimising public housing resources, if (i) the Applicant voluntarily withdraws the selected flat under the EFAS; or (ii) the Applicant and/ or his/her family member(s) reaching the age of 18 (if any) included in the PRH application fail(s) to attend the detailed vetting interview in person as scheduled and/or submit requisite documents within the specified period for verification of his/her eligibility for PRH; or (iii) the Applicant refuses the housing offer of the selected flat after successful verification of his/her eligibility for PRH and receiving the “offer letter”; or (iv) the Applicant fails to turn up for completion of the formalities of the tenancy of the selected flat at the respective estate office, without any “acceptable reason”, the allocation will be counted as one valid offer. “Acceptable reasons” for refusing the housing offers include: (i) the Applicant has supporting document(s) issued by the relevant organisations (such as the Hospital Authority), stating clearly the medical reason(s) for not accepting the PRH unit offered; (ii) the Applicant has supporting document(s) issued by the Social Welfare Department / relevant organisation, stating clearly the social reason(s) for not accepting the PRH unit offered; and (iii) the Applicant has document(s) to prove that he/she is unable to sign the tenancy agreement as scheduled due to his/her absence from Hong Kong or hospitalisation for treatment. |
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Applicants who have not been invited for self-flat selection or have not attended upon invitation, or failed to successfully select a flat during the self-flat selection procedure, will not be recorded with one count of valid offer. Their PRH application will continue to be processed in accordance with the prevailing PRH policies and procedure provided that the application is still valid. |
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The flats offered for selection include vacant rental units of PRH estates located in various districts. Some are considered to be desirable in terms of surroundings, transportation network, community service, shopping and medical facilities, etc. Some may have involved in unpleasant incidents, while the floor level, orientation or internal layout of some other units may be less desirable. For example, units in Po Tin Estate and Tin Yan Estate (Phase 1) in the New Territories are equipped with smaller toilet and kitchen than those in other PRH units. |
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Tenants who take up PRH flats with effective vacancy period of 12 months or more will be granted 50% reduction on monthly rent. The period of rent reduction is determined by the period of effective vacancy of a flat (“Effective vacancy period” is the period during which the unit is under normal letting so that it may differ from actual vacancy period). Tenants cannot apply for HD’s Rent Assistance Scheme during the period. (Remarks: If Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients residing in public housing receive any rent-free incentives or rent-reduction incentives, Social Welfare Department will stop the rental allowance or will only pay rental allowance at an amount equal to the actual rent paid resulting from the rent-reduction incentives, subject to the maximum rent allowance entitled. For further enquiries, please contact the responsible Social Security Field Unit. |
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Light Public Housing (LPH): If a PRH applicant household has selected a flat through the Scheme as the first PRH flat offer and has been issued with a “Reserving Selected Flat Offer Letter”, irrespective of whether the selected flat is eventually accepted or refused, the household will be deemed to have been provided with a first flat offer (save for cases with “acceptable reason(s)” for refusing housing offers as determined by HD under the established PRH allocation mechanism). The household will not be eligible to apply for LPH and the LPH application will be rejected or cancelled. Applicants may visit the LPH website of the Housing Bureau (www.hb.gov.hk/eng/lph) for details of LPH, or may contact The Office of the Dedicated Team on Light Public Housing via other means. |
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The Subsidised Housing Committee (SHC) of HA endorsed on 29 September 2005 that tenants departing from PRH (including IH) with rent arrears unsettled at the time of tenancy termination have vacated the PRH unit, the ex-tenant and family member(s) aged 18 or above of such households are required to settle all rent arrears/debts incurred in the past before they can be allocated a PRH unit through the PRH Application. (Applicable to ex-tenants whose tenancies terminated after 30 September 2005). For applicants who are those ex-tenants/family member(s) aged 18 or above of such households are not allowed to attend the flat selection procedures unless all rent arrears/debts incurred have been settled before their scheduled flat selection date under the Scheme. Failing which the application of the Scheme will be cancelled. |
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The PRH applications, including applicants or family members under the debarment restriction for PRH application resulting from the following circumstances, are not eligible to join the Scheme within the debarment period. For those with their debarment imposed after the application closing date, their application of the Scheme will also be cancelled accordingly. (i) Ex-tenants with PRH tenancies terminated by the HA on or after 1 October 2023 for making false declarations, breaching any terms of the tenancy agreement, violating the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement in Public Housing Estates etc., as well as their family member(s) aged 18 or above at the time of tenancy termination are ineligible to apply for PRH within five years from the following day after the date of tenancy termination. As for the ex-tenants with PRH tenancies terminated by the HA during the period from 1 January 2006 to 30 September 2023 as well as their family member(s) aged 18 or above at the time of tenancy termination are ineligible to apply for PRH within two years from the following day after the date of tenancy termination. The above restrictions are also applicable to ex-licensees of PRH and IH and their family member(s). (ii) Ex-tenants with rental estate units tenancies terminated by the HKHS on or after 1 December 2023 for making false declarations or breaching any terms of the tenancy agreement etc., as well as their family member(s) aged 18 or above at the time of tenancy termination are ineligible to apply for PRH and rental estate units within five years from the following day after the date of tenancy termination. (iii) Applicants or family members whose PRH applications cancelled by the HA on or after 1 October 2023 on grounds of making false declarations or furnishing false information will be barred from re- applying for PRH for a period of five years from the date of cancellation. (iv) Applicants or family members whose rental estate units applications cancelled by the HKHS on or after 1 December 2023 on grounds of making false declarations or furnishing false information will be barred from re- applying for PRH and rental estate units for a period of five years from the date of cancellation. |
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Applicant who has obtained a PRH flat through EFAS and subsequently applies with Green Form (GF) for purchase of a flat under HA’s Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) or Hong Kong Housing Society’s “Subsidised Sales Flats Project” (including surplus HOS and new HOS flats) within three years from the initial commencement date of the tenancy agreement, he/she will be treated as White Form (WF) applicant in the flat selection order and will be put under the WF queue. Any flat taken up by him / her will be counted against the WF quota. Upon purchase of such a flat, he / she will have to surrender his / her PRH flat to HA like the other GF applicants. |
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Applicants housed through EFAS will not be eligible to apply for the sale of flats under Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme within three years from the initial date of tenancy commencement of their PRH units. |
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Having accepted the flat through EFAS, the applicant and his / her family members cannot request for any transfer within three years from the commencement date of the tenancy agreement. At flat selection, applicants are therefore required to sign an undertaking to acknowledge that they cannot request a transfer within three years from the date of commencement of the tenancy agreement in respect of the selected flat. HD may exercise discretion for special cases verified by relevant departments/organisations, or transfers upon demand of the HD. |
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If the PRH application has been verified as eligible for PRH and the application is ready for allocation (except for frozen cases), joining EFAS will not affect the chance of being allocated a flat under the normal queue. It is thus possible that offer letter will be issued under his / her normal PRH application, inviting the applicant to complete the intake formalities (including final offer) during EFAS. In that case, the applicant has to decide whether to accept the offer or not. If he / she accepts the offer and completes all the intake formalities, his / her EFAS application will be cancelled. If the applicant refuses the offer, his / her EFAS application will not be affected provided that he / she still holds valid chance of housing offer(s). If the applicant refuses to accept the final offer leading to cancellation of his / her PRH application, his / her EFAS application will be cancelled accordingly. |
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In accordance with the principle of optimising public housing resources and subject to the availability of such resources, if there are still flats available for selection after all invited eligible applicants have attended the flat selection, HD will consider re-inviting eligible applicants who have not selected a flat under EFAS to join the flat selection of the remaining flats according to order of priority for flat selection. HD reserves all rights in respect of flat selection arrangements. |
For enquiry, please call the Housing Authority Hotline 2712 2712. |