Longer wait for flats on the cards amid building shortfall

The Housing Authority may "for a short period of time" fail to keep the average waiting time for public rental housing within three years.

The authority said this yesterday after it was revealed that the number of new flats available this year would fall short of the government's construction target.

Only 8,900 flats will be completed this year, far below the average annual target of 15,000 set in Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's policy address for the five years to 2017.

The authority's subsidised housing committee yesterday endorsed an annual plan under which 24,800 public rental housing flats would be available for allocation to applicants in the current fiscal year - 26 per cent less than last year's figure.

Most are refurbished second-hand flats or those vacated by the relocation or death of tenants.

Committee chairman Stanley Wong Yuen-fai said delays in works and planning processes had postponed new homes.

"The major problem is finding land. The second one is the planning process," Wong said. "Proposals to rezone government, institution or community land for residential use often face opposition … There is a long consultation process."