Hong Kong public rental housing wait edges up to 4.8 years, urban allocations rise

Hong Kong's public rental housing wait time rose to 4.8 years by the end of June, with urban allocations increasing, authorities reported. Despite the rise in the composite figure, which includes temporary flats under the light public housing initiative, the average waiting time for general applicants, such as families or elderly individuals, dropped by 0.1 years to 5.5 years in the past 12 months.

Single elderly applicants still waited an average of 3.9 years. The bureau attributed the slight increase in the composite waiting time to positive outcomes, as applicants who had waited longer in urban areas were allocated homes. This indicates progress in addressing the backlog of waiting cases. In the second quarter, 3,200 general applicants, including 330 single seniors, were housed in standard public rental homes.

As of June, there were 100,500 general applications waiting for a standard public rental home. Between April and June, over 4,400 general applicants were housed in various types of rental flats. Notably, 74% of allocated homes were in urban areas, up from 69% in the first quarter, and 81% of recovered standard public rental homes were also located in urban areas.

The bureau emphasized that light public housing, a new initiative providing about 30,000 homes by 2027-28, has significantly reduced waiting times for eligible households, with an average of three years. The government aims to further reduce waiting times to three years for standard public rental flats and enhance future home-buying prospects.