Hong Kong’s subsidised homeowners can sublet flats without paying premiums under new proposal approved by Housing Authority
- Plan comes into effect from fourth quarter of 2019, when subletting of entire flats instead of just bedrooms will also be allowed
- Lawmaker urges for introduction of cap on house rent to make scheme economically viable and beneficial to people
The Housing Authority has announced it will allow subsidised homeowners to sublet their units to those waiting for public flats without paying a premium, in an effort to help address Hong Kong’s mounting housing problem.
Eligible owners must have owned their flats for more than 10 years, while tenants are restricted to general public housing applicants who have been waiting for more than three years, or non-elderly single applicants who have been waiting for at least six years.
The 10-year requirement was set to prevent speculators from purchasing subsidised homes just for monetary gains within a short period of time, the authority said on Monday.
Owners of 340,000 Housing Authority flats, who are now required to pay a premium before subletting their units, will be eligible for the scheme, to be launched in the fourth quarter of the year.
The Housing Society, an NGO, has been running a similar programme since last October, allowing its 14,500 eligible flat owners to rent out their bedrooms without paying a premium.
