Pressure mounts to restart HOS flat sales

Pressure for the Housing Authority to resume sales of flats under its suspended Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) is likely to grow after new members vowed to raise the issue.

Two of the seven authority members appointed yesterday - City University professor of public administration Anthony Cheung Bing-leung and Democratic Party legislator Fred Li Wah-ming - said the less well-off needed the scheme, which provides flats for sale to families who could not otherwise afford modern homes.

Professor Cheung said: 'I'll push for resuming the HOS scheme. It has its value in society and it provides constant and substantial revenue to the authority.'

Mr Li said: 'Selling HOS flats should have no impact on the market. Shelving the scheme until the end of next year is a waste of public resources.'

He said the department should also resume building HOS flats.

The scheme was the authority's main source of revenue. The government suspended the scheme in November 2002 to stabilise the ailing property market, leaving 10,000 flats unsold.