Hong Kong could adjust public-to-subsidised housing ratio to help young people own flats
- Housing Authority member Anthony Chiu suggests changing ratio from 70-30 to 50-50 amid trend of more educated singles applying for rental flats
Hong Kong’s housing authorities could adjust the proportion of public rental housing and subsidised flats from 70-30 to 50-50 in a bid to help young people buy homes, amid a growing trend of more educated singles applying for public rental flats at an early age.
“Lying flat” is a term that originated in mainland China that means doing the bare minimum to get by.
According to a survey by the authority, the number of non-elderly one-person applicants for public rental flats aged below 30 fell from 66,500 in 2017 to 38,600 in 2022.
But the poll also found that 52 per cent of these young singles had a tertiary degree or above, while 24 per cent had postsecondary qualifications and 23 per cent had completed secondary school.
“Some of these young people might apply for public rental housing before they graduate,” Chiu told a radio show on Monday. “But the possibility of them being allocated such a rental home is low.”