Help for elderly to pay home-repair loans
More than 1,000 elderly people who have not been able to pay off property maintenance loans will be able use a government subsidy scheme to clear their debts, it was revealed yesterday.
In his budget last week, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah said the government would spend HK$1 billion over five years to subsidise building maintenance or safety improvement work in flats occupied by the elderly. About 30,000 elderly property owners are expected to benefit from the scheme, which offers a subsidy of up to HK$40,000.
Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who announced the details yesterday, said elderly people who were unable to pay off property maintenance loans previously obtained through the Buildings Department, the Urban Renewal Authority or the Housing Society could apply for the subsidy to repay the debts. 'We estimate that about 1,000 elderly have difficulties repaying debts, and the new subsidy scheme will help lighten their burden,' Mrs Lam said.
'The new subsidy scheme will go well together with another scheme which requires compulsory building safety checks and window inspections,' she said.
To be eligible under the scheme, expected to be launched in May, applicants must be aged over 60 and have a monthly income of no more than HK$5,910 if they are single or HK$9,740 for a married couple. The total value of assets for a single person should not exceed HK$338,000, while for a married couple the ceiling is HK$508,000. The value of their self-owned properties is excluded. The subsidy can be used for structural safety-related works, such as external walls maintenance, drainage system and fire safety facilities.
Mrs Lam said the scheme was aimed at offering additional assistance for elderly property owners, and there was no plan to replace any of the existing schemes provided by the Buildings Department, the Housing Society and the Urban Renewal Authority. A spokeswoman for the Buildings Department said the number of defaults involving applicants aged 60 or older was 131 at the end of last year, amounting to HK$2.4 million.
But Iman Fok Tin-man, of the Society for Community Organisation, said the scheme would be of little help to most elderly property owners who wanted to carry out interior maintenance of their flats. 'Most elderly flat owners live in shabby conditions, with rain leaking through broken windows and cement falling from the ceiling. They should allow the money to be spent on interior decoration,' she said.
An 81-year-old elderly flat owner, surnamed Sin, who lives with his wife and unemployed son in Sham Shui Po, said they were worried that they could not apply for the subsidy to cover maintenance work for his flat.
'We are eligible in terms of assets and monthly income. But we want to use the money to repair the ceiling and windows, as my home is always flooded during rainy season, as water seeps into my flat,' he said.
