An academic says the government should take back subsidised housing when the land leases expire - usually after 50 years - but waive land premiums when the flats are resold.
The proposal would help ease housing problems by creating a fresh supply and ensure a fairer subsidy system, said Chau Kwong-wing, chair professor of the Department of Real Estate and Construction at the University of Hong Kong.
He said it would help retired people who could cash in by selling their private flats and then use some of that money to buy a cheaper subsidised flat.
The idea puts the spotlight on an outdated housing policy where expired land leases are automatically renewed with cheap rates, and better-off descendants are allowed to inherit subsidised flats.
'Unlike public rental housing, subsidised flats can be passed on to the owner's descendants. [The flats] will not be returned to the government even if the [descendants] become better off in the future,' Chau said. 'Why should the public subsidise the next generation?'
Chau, a former president of the Institute of Surveyors, came up with the plan in response to the government's pledge in October to revive construction of subsidised flats under the Home Ownership Scheme.