Rental component in housing plan for Hong Kong middle class may be dropped
Rental component of a proposed rent-or-buy programme for middle class could be dropped to satisfy pent-up demand to acquire property
Housing minister Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said a new rent-or-buy housing programme for the middle class could be reviewed in the upcoming long-term housing strategy.
In response to a housing adviser's earlier suggestion that the rental option of the My Home Purchase Plan should be dropped to satisfy the keen demand in buying, Cheung said yesterday that he would not rule out a review of the scheme to be launched in the coming few months.
"The rental option is a characteristic of the My Home Purchase Plan … There are positive views, but there are people who disagree … as to what role it should play and whether the contents need a review, I won't rule out [a review]," he said on a radio programme.
The long-term housing strategy Cheung was referring is to be steered by a committee of cross-departmental officials and professionals, who will assess the needs of different population groups. The work to forecast housing demand was shelved by the previous administration.
The subsidised My Home Purchase Plan, announced by former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in 2010, is for families earning no more than HK$40,000 a month.
The first project under construction in Tsing Yi will yield 1,000 homes and will open to applications at the end of the year. Future residents can choose either to buy the flat, or rent it for a few years, while saving up to buy it later. The sale price will remain fixed during the lease period.