Extend Handouts For People In Public Flat Queue: NGO

The Society for Community Organisation on Sunday called on the government to extend and expand a trial scheme offering monthly cash handouts to people who've been waiting for public housing for three years or more.

The three-year trial scheme was introduced by the government in 2021 to ease the burden on people waiting to rent a public flat, many of whom face high rents or substandard living conditions. Eligible households receive HK$1,300 to HK$3,900 each month, depending on the size of the household.

But SoCo said it surveyed 238 grassroots people since December, and found that many of those in need who want to access the scheme are excluded, including single people who not elderly.

The group's deputy director Sze Lai-shan said some people who had been receiving the cash had the payments cut off before they moved into a public flat.

"When they are allocated with a public housing flat, if they do not accept the offer, they will stop receiving the subsidies. I think it's not considerate because the allocation of public housing is random," she told RTHK, adding that some people might turn down a flat if it's in a remote area or in a place that's far from work or school.

Sze said 75 percent of the people it questioned were still waiting for a public flat and would face difficulties if the handout ended next year as scheduled.

"If there are no more subsidies [after 2024], some people may find it difficult to pay for the rent. We hope the government can extend the scheme and relax the criteria."

She also urged the government to introduce allowances for other households with housing problems who haven't been on the waiting list for at least three years.

In his Policy Address last year, Chief Executive John Lee said he planned over the next four years to reduce the waiting list for public rental flats from the current six years to four-and-a-half years. He described the target as ambitious yet realistic.