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Hong Kong housing
OpinionComment
Wendy Hong
Wendy Hong

Opinion | Tackle Hong Kong’s shortage of affordable housing with more subsidised sale flats

  • If the government wants to eradicate subdivided units, increasing public rental housing supply alone will not get the job done
  • Too many people are ineligible to rent government-subsidised flats, and maintaining these estates comes at a steep price

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A public housing estate in Cheung Sha Wan. Many Hongkongers seeking a place to live face a dilemma as their monthly income is too high to qualify for public rental housing but not high enough to afford other options. Photo: Sam Tsang
Wendy Hong
The shortage of affordable housing has long been a problem that the Hong Kong government has vowed to fix. However, the recent policy address left several issues unresolved. One is the insufficient supply of subsidised sale flats.
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The latest Long Term Housing Strategy report outlines a rolling 10-year housing supply plan. Next year, the government will maintain the split of 70 per cent for public rental housing and the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme and 30 per cent for other subsidised sale flats.

Given the surge in public rental housing applications in the past decade, it might seem logical to allocate a large chunk of resources to public rental housing supply. However, the insufficient number of subsidised sale flats for the “sandwich class” – a popular term for the lower middle class – leaves these households with no viable housing options, holding them back from improving their living conditions.

With few incentives for people to climb up the housing ladder, public resources and talent are trapped within a sluggish system. Hong Kong’s demand for subsidised sale flats surpasses the need for public rental housing; the proportion of these flats should be increased.

If the government wants to eradicate subdivided units, increasing public rental housing supply alone will not get the job done. According to a 2021 government report, 34.2 per cent of the over 107,000 households in subdivided units earn a monthly income of HK$20,000 (US$2,560) or more, exceeding the current income threshold of HK$12,940 and HK$19,550 for one-person and two-person households, respectively.
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In other words, they are ineligible for public rental housing. By contrast, with a higher monthly income limit, subsidised sale flats are a better option for elevating their living conditions.
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