Change in Mortgage Arrangement | Hong Kong Housing Authority and Housing Department

Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) / Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS) / Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) / Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) Flats

Pursuant to the Housing Ordinance (Cap. 283) or the requirements under the Deed of Assignment and the Government lease, a flat owner of Subsidised Sale Flats Scheme (SSFS) of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) with premium unpaid is required to obtain prior approval from the Director of Housing for any change in the mortgage arrangement for the flat. The usual reasons for applying for a change in mortgage arrangement are:

Change of ownership and the consequential change in the existing mortgage arrangement;

Change of lender and/or mortgage plan for commercial reasons, such as offer of more favourable mortgage terms;

Points to note :

Starting from 1 November 2022, those banks and financial institutions which had entered into deeds of guarantee with the HA and provide mortgage finance to purchasers of SSFS flats in the primary market and under the Secondary Market Scheme (SMS) (participating financial institutions) may offer a mortgage plan that makes reference to the Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate (HIBOR Plan) to mortgagors of SSFS flats, in addition to the mortgage plan that makes reference to the Best Lending Rate (BLR Plan).
If the participating financial institutions approve their existing mortgagors / other mortgagors to switch from a BLR Plan to a HIBOR Plan or vice versa, it is necessary for the mortgagors to submit an application for change in mortgage arrangement and obtain the relevant approval from the Director of Housing prior to the execution of the legal document to effect such change in mortgage arrangement. The mortgagor should approach the relevant participating financial institutions and his / her own legal adviser regarding the way to effect the change in mortgage arrangement for switching to a HIBOR Plan/BLR Plan and the same should be specified in the application form. If there is any change of the way to effect the change in mortgage arrangement after the submission of the application, the applicant is required to submit a fresh application and pay the relevant fee.

Cessation of staff housing loan benefits provided by employer due to a change of employment;

Provision of staff housing loan benefits by an employer. This includes the loan secured as the first mortgage which the flat owner obtains from the employer under a staff housing loan scheme to finance the balance of the purchase price.

Application

If the application form has not been properly completed, the HA may reject the application.

Applicants are advised to obtain the necessary approval from the participating financial institutions (which may be their existing lender or other participating financial institutions of their choice) and confirm the way to effect the change in mortgage arrangement before submitting an application together with the relevant fee to the respective District Tenancy Management Office (DTMO).

If the application is due to reason 1, 2 or 3 mentioned above, the flat owner should submit the duly completed application form together with a crossed cheque of $2,040 made payable to "Hong Kong Housing Authority" for the payment of the administrative fee to the respective DTMO.

Points to note :

The loan amount arising from a change in the mortgage arrangement shall not exceed the principal outstanding under the existing mortgage. If the concerned existing mortgage is subject to the Mortgage Insurance Programme (MIP) of HKMC Insurance Limited (HKMCI), applicants are advised to contact the participating financial institution and / or HKMCI regarding the loan amount / loan-to-value ratio upon a change in the mortgage arrangement before submitting this application.

HOS flats (including PSPS / MIH / BRO) and GSH

Flats sold under Phase 8A or before, the repayment period for the total number of instalments payable arising from a change in the mortgage arrangement together with those already paid under the previous and existing mortgages (hereinafter referred as the “overall repayment period”) shall not exceed 180 months. As these mortgages were made in 1985 or before, they should have normally been discharged.

Flats sold under HOS Phase 8B to 18C, the maximum overall repayment period shall be 240 months. Nevertheless, if the lender concerned has signed the supplemental Deed of Guarantee with the HA, the maximum overall repayment period can be extended from 240 months to 300 months^Note [1].

Note [1] However, for such flats, the maximum guarantee period provided by the HA to the lender will remain for the first 240 months. The flat owner must first obtain his / her lender’s agreement to extend the overall repayment period before the Housing Department (HD) can proceed with the application for change in mortgage arrangement due to the extension for the repayment period. Whether a lender will permit a flat owner’s application for the extension for the repayment period is solely its commercial decision and HA is not in a position to provide comment.

For flats sold under HOS Phase 19A and onwards as well as for GSH, and the concerned HOS / GSH project were issued with occupation permit before 1 December 2023, the maximum overall repayment period shall not exceed 300 months.

For flats in new HOS / GSH projects with completion date of the sale and purchase and the relevant legal charge falling on or after 1 January 2024, the maximum overall repayment period shall not exceed 360 months. New HOS / GSH projects refer to the HOS / GSH projects with occupation permit issued on or after 1 December 2023.

TPS flats

For flats with completion date of the sale and purchase and the relevant legal charge falling before 1 January 2024, the overall repayment period shall not exceed 300 months.

For flats with completion date of the sale and purchase and the relevant legal charge falling on or after 1 January 2024, the maximum overall repayment period shall not exceed 360 months.

SMS flat

-	For flats with completion date of the sale and purchase and the relevant legal charge falling before 1 March 2024, the maximum overall repayment period shall not exceed 300 months.
-	For flats with completion date of sale and purchase and the relevant legal charge falling on or after 1 March 2024, the maximum overall repayment period shall not exceed 360 months

For the avoidance of doubt, applicants should note that for SSFS flats which are subject to the maximum overall repayment period being not exceeding 300 months, the maximum overall repayment period of the consequential change in mortgage arrangements of such flats arising from other reasons such as those set out in paragraph 2 will remain as 300 months.

If the application is due to reason 4 mentioned above, which means that the flat owner will obtain a mortgage of the flat through a staff housing loan scheme being operated by his / her employer, the flat owner should separately apply for approval to enter into a staff housing loan mortgage in writing with copies of relevant documentation, e.g. certification and details about the benefits of the staff housing loan scheme being provided by his / her employer, to the respective DTMO. Payment of the relevant fee for the application is required.

Point to note:

The loan amount shall not exceed the balance of the purchase price for first mortgage or the principal outstanding under the existing mortgage.

The administrative fee for application for change in mortgage arrangement is currently $2,040 and is subject to review periodically. The administrative fee paid is not refundable in any event, no matter the application is successful or not, or the applicant wishes to withdraw the application.

If the application is approved, the HA will send the approval letter for change in mortgage arrangement to the applicant by registered mail.

The approval letter for change in mortgage arrangement is valid for a period of 6 months and the applicant is advised to arrange for completing the change in mortgage arrangement as soon as possible with the lender. If the concerned change is not completed within the validity period, the applicant is required to submit a fresh application and pay the relevant fee.

The personal data collected in the application shall be used for the purpose of processing the application for change in mortgage arrangement. HA / Housing Department (HD) may provide the personal data collected in the application to other sections / offices of the HD for carrying out tenancy management matters. The personal data provided may also be used by the HA / HD and relevant Government bureau / departments for conducting statistical surveys and researches. The provision of personal data is voluntary. However, if the applicant does not provide sufficient information, HA / HD may not be able to process the application.

The applicant has the right to access and make amendments in respect of the personal data provided in the application form. Requests for access and / or amendments of personal data should be made in writing and directed by post or fax (No. 2761 6363) to the Departmental Data Protection Officer of the Housing Authority Headquarters, 33 Fat Kwong Street, Ho Man Tin, Kowloon.

Quick Links

Learn More About

District Tenancy Management Offices (PDF format)

Application for Change in Mortgage Arrangement HD64 (PDF format)

In This Section

Changes of Household Particulars Transfer of Ownership Refinancing

Sitemap

e-Services for PRH Application