Hong Kong public flat tenants will find any rent rise affordable at no more than 10%, housing chief says
- Director of Housing Rosanna Law says that if rents do increase, tenants will only pay about HK$100 to HK$200 more
- Government is set to review public housing rents in the middle of the year
Tenants of Hong Kong’s public flats will find any increase in rent under a coming review affordable as it will be no more than 10 per cent, the city’s housing chief has said.
Director of Housing Rosanna Law Shuk-pui sought to reassure tenants on Saturday with the government set to review public housing rents in the middle of the year.
“Even if there is an increase in rents, it will not be more than 10 per cent based on existing regulations, which will be affordable to public housing tenants,” she told a television programme.
“At present the average rent is about HK$2,200 [US$281] but 40 per cent of the tenants don’t need to make a rental payment of over HK$2,000 per month, with some only paying several hundred dollars per month.
“Even if the increase is 10 per cent, it will be about HK$100 to HK$200 more, or lower than that.”
Law said the review – which is conducted every two years – would take into account changes in household incomes to reflect the economic situation. The sluggish economy would have little impact on income assessment, she added.