Under the new rules, some tenants will be required to pay 2.5 to 4.5 times the standard rent starting from October.
In addition, if a tenant’s income is between four to five times the limit after two declaration cycles, they will have to move out.
The chairperson of the authority’s subsidised housing committee Cleresa Wong said she expects at least a few hundred flats to be released after the rules are tightened, but she offered assurances that tenants will not be forced to move out immediately.
“Tenants will only have to move out after they surrender their public flat and get another property,” she told a radio programme.
“They don’t have to worry about moving and residing elsewhere temporarily, before being able to purchase a flat under the ‘white form’ status or a first-hand private housing unit.”
Lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok, who is also a member of the committee, said well-off public housing tenants would be able to afford the higher rents, adding that new policies can also encourage them to buy a flat.
“Residential prices in the private market have gradually stabilised, and we have policies like the Home Ownership Scheme, and the ‘green form’ status. More tenants who can afford [it] may consider purchasing a flat,” he told an RTHK radio programme.
The chairman of the Federation of Public Housing Estates Man Yu-ming, meanwhile, said it may be hard for some tenants to pay more rent, but he believes the changes could encourage upward mobility.
