Hong Kong public rental housing waiting time creeps up to 4.8 years

The average waiting time for Hong Kong's public rental housing (PRH) rose slightly to 4.8 years by June, according to the government. The Housing Bureau reported a 0.1-year increase from the previous quarter, but still considered the figure to be "relatively low" compared to the peak of 6.1 years before the current administration began in 2022. This uptick was attributed to higher allocations in urban and extended urban areas, where average wait times are typically longer than in the New Territories.

Housing Bureau spokesperson explained that fluctuations in the average wait time were a positive sign, indicating that the government was effectively addressing the long-standing backlog of waiting cases. The spokesperson added that the average waiting time for PRH was expected to trend positively in the long run, with the government aiming to reduce it to 4.5 years by 2026-27.

The Light Public Housing (LPH) scheme, introduced by Chief Executive John Lee in 2022, has been introduced to help alleviate this issue. LPH wait times are significantly shorter, with an average of about two years for New Territories applicants, compared to six years for PRH units in urban areas. The bureau encouraged family applicants to consider LPH to reduce their wait times.

As of June, there were roughly 100,500 general applications for PRH, down from a peak of 156,400 in 2020. Non-elderly one-person applicants also decreased from 143,700 to 81,000, suggesting that the PRH waiting queue is being reduced. The Hong Kong Housing Society, another public housing provider, followed the Housing Authority in raising rent by 2.85 per cent.

Around 30 per cent of Hong Kong's population currently resides in public rental housing. Housing issues are a priority for Chief Executive John Lee, who has acknowledged China's Xi Jinping's instructions to resolve the city's housing shortage, emphasizing that homes should be for living in, not for speculation.