The Housing Authority's great public rental sell-off is generous and bold, and has been welcomed across the political spectrum. But, inevitably, it remains something of a gamble.
When a less ambitious scheme was launched several years ago, tenants did not see any advantage in paying higher mortgages than neighbours who continued to rent, while having to assume the maintenance costs of private ownership.
We are assured that there has been a change in attitude since then as more people have grown eager to become owner-occupiers. If so, this is an offer tenants will find it difficult to refuse. Massive discounts on the property price and mortgages of 95 per cent are major incentives. Coupled with seven years of free maintenance and the right to sell within five years, the package looks extremely attractive.
The Government has devised a system to give tenants a foot on the property ladder without opening the door to wide-scale speculation. Families who want to move up in the world but cannot afford the prices on the private market have an opportunity to build up capital in relatively modest mortgage repayments. As the homes come with a fund for maintenance fees, they should have a good resale value.
If the scheme succeeds, it signals the beginning of a massive shift towards the target set by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa for 70 per cent home ownership. What has to be asked is whether that is what the majority of tenants really want. Half the population here lives in subsidised housing. Ten per cent of those own property elsewhere, and drive cars almost as large as the space some poor families have to live in.
In a spirit of duty to the community, this section of the population should be made to face up to their responsibilities instead of depriving needy families of homes and putting an unacceptable burden on the taxpayer. Such people must not be allowed to dip deeper into the public purse.
