Hong Kong to build fewer subsidised tiny flats in future, but they will still be available for potential buyers, new housing chief says
- New administration will reduce ratio of tiny flats in subsidised estates, Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho says
- Ho adds government will monitor market response and modify supply accordingly
Hong Kong will build fewer small flats in the future for subsidised projects, but they will be available for those looking to buy such homes, the city’s new housing minister has said.
With a minimum size requirement of 280 sq ft imposed on private flats built on government land this year, Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said the new administration would also reduce the ratio of tiny flats in subsidised public housing estates.
“With this restriction, we will also reduce the number of small flats in future projects,” Ho told a radio programme on Saturday.
But she added that authorities would not stop building small, subsidised flats entirely. “With a smaller size, the property price will be cheaper, then there will be a property ladder in the market. Just like when you go shopping, you want to have more choices, there are both cheap and expensive clothes. We want to offer more choices,” she said.
Ho said that the government would monitor the market’s response and modify the supply accordingly.
To increase the number of public flats, the previous administration had to compromise on size, given the plot ratio of sites was fixed, she explained.
Of the 8,926 subsidised flats on the market this year which were made available by the Housing Authority, 320 units are small, ranging from 186 sq ft to 189 sq ft.
Ho’s remarks echoed part of the expectations laid down by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the inauguration of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s administration on July 1. Xi said Hong Kong residents desired bigger flats and urged the new government to solve people’s livelihood problems.