The Housing Authority Subsidised Housing Committee today endorsed measures to tighten policies in relation to well-off public rental housing (PRH) tenants and encourage their upward mobility.
Households whose family income exceeds two times and not more than three times the prevailing PRH income limits (PRHILs) will be required to pay 2.5 times the standard rent instead of the existing 1.5 times.
Households with family income exceeding three times and not more than four times the prevailing PRHILs will pay 3.5 times the standard rent, in lieu of the existing double rent.
As for households whose family income exceeds four times and not more than five times the prevailing PRHILs, they have to pay 4.5 times the standard rent instead of the existing double rent.
The new additional rent levels will take effect from the next declaration cycle in October of this year, and the first batch of well-off tenants will pay rent at the new levels from October 1, 2026.
The threshold for vacating PRH flats will also be adjusted. PRH tenants with income levels exceeding four times but not five times the PRHILs after two declaration cycles, i.e. four years in total, must relinquish their tenancies.
To encourage the upward mobility of well-off tenants, starting from the next home ownership scheme (HOS) sale exercise, the quota allocation ratio of Green Form to White Form applicants will be adjusted to 50:50.
Moreover, well-off tenants paying additional rents, irrespective of the rent level, can retain their Green Form status for four years after voluntarily moving out of their flats. This policy will be effective from October 1.
Relevant declaration arrangements will also be enhanced. Each family member will have to declare individually whether they own any domestic property in Hong Kong. This will allow identification of false declarations and corresponding enforcement measures to be taken.
Those who make false declarations will be subject to a five-year debarment from applying for PRH and will also be liable to prosecution.
Meanwhile, the authority’s Subsidised Housing Committee endorsed today the proposed income and asset limits for applicants of different household sizes for PRH for 2025/26. These will take effect from April 1. Click here for details.
