Editorial | Waiting list for Hong Kong flats next to be tackled
- Once Covid-19 is finally put to the sword the city must return to another crisis, the six-year wait for public housing
If tackling Hong Kong’s housing woes was as simple as building temporary hospitals and isolation units for coronavirus patients, officials might simply conjure up more such facilities for longer use with the help of the mainland authorities.
Alas, the Covid strategy is an extraordinary step in extraordinary times. It is still incumbent upon the administration to resolve the problem with more sustainable efforts.
The latest official figures offered no relief for many who have been desperately waiting for a subsidised flat.
According to the Housing Authority, about 250,000 needy families face an average wait of six years, the longest duration in 23 years. This is twice as long as the government’s allocation commitment of within three years.
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Hong Kong has until 2049 to fix its housing crisis, but is it possible?
The target has not been met since 2014, with the waiting time hitting 4.6 years in 2017 and 5.7 years in 2020. The longer wait is said to be a reflection of more people allocated flats in the last quarter following a long wait. Be that as it may, it remains the truth that the demand for subsidised flats continues to outstrip supply.