Housing Bureau Reports Waiting Time for Subsidised Rental Housing Drops to 4.7 Years, Lowest in Eight Years

Housing Bureau announces Composite Waiting Time for Subsidised Rental Housing has dropped by around five months to 4.7 years, marking lowest record in over eight years

The Housing Bureau (HB) released today (May 14) that the latest quarterly Composite Waiting Time for Subsidised Rental Housing (CWT) is 4.7 years, a decrease of 0.4 years as compared with the last quarter, which is also the lowest record in over eight years.

CWT shortened 1.5 years to 5.0 years for first time in comparison to 6.1 years before current-term Government

This record is calculated based on general applicants (i.e. family and elderly one-person applicants) that were housed to public rental housing (PRH) or Light Public Housing (LPH) in the past 12 months as at end-March 2026. Compared with the highest level of 6.1 years before the current-term Government took office, the CWT has been shortened by nearly one and a half years, and has fallen below 5.0 years for the first time.

8 400 general applicants housed with nearly half in LPH

"In the first quarter of 2026, we have succesfully arranged a total of about 8 400 general applicants to be housed to PRH or LPH, including about 1 200 newly completed PRH flats, about 3 300 recovered PRH flats, and about 3 900 LPH units. Nearly half (47 per cent) of them were housed toLPHunits, which is significantly higher than the proportion in the last quarter (16 per cent)," said the spokesman for HB.

Waiting time for LPH only three years on average

"The waiting time of general applicants who were housed to LPH in the past 12 months is only 3.0 years on average. Since the waiting time of general applicants housed toLPH is obviously shorter, the increased proportion of LPH has effectively led to a decrease in the overall CWT. In fact, the waiting time for PRH units in the urban district in the past 12 months was about six years, while the waiting time for LPH units in the New Territories was only about two years, with a difference of four years. We hope that families in need will make the most appropriate decision for their family members, particularly for the health of elderly members and the growth of children," said the spokesman for HB.

Current average quarterly supply more than doubled that of three years before current-term Goverment

In fact, since the first LPH project began allocation in March 2025, the Government's overall supply of subsidised rental housing has increased to about 7 500 units per quarter, which is more than double the average quarterly supply of about 3 500 units during the three years before the current-term Government took office (i.e. from 2019-20 to 2021-22), showing that the supply has significantly increased. This fully highlights the original policy intent of the LPH to promptly assist residents in alleviating their hardships, which has not only played a key role in shortening the waiting time for PRH, but also improved the living conditions and quality of life of low-income families. Furthermore, as compared with subdivided units, residents who are housed toLPH can also save an average of over $50,000 in rent per year, which can be accumulated as family savings to plan for a better future.

Further reductions in PRH waiting queue with general applications significantly reduced by more than 30 per cent over past 5 years or so

In addition, with the Government's multipronged approach to expedite the turnover of PRH flats, the number of PRH general applicants has further decreased. As at end-March 2026, there were about 103 400 general applications for PRH, and about 81 100 non-elderly one-person applications under the Quota and Points System. As compared with the highest level of 156400 cases and 143700 cases of general applications and non-elderly one-person applications, the application number reduced significantly by more than 30 per cent and over 40 per cent respectively. Among them, the number of non-elderly one-person applicants aged below 30 recorded an even sharper decline of about 60 per cent over the 10-year period, from about 71 300 as at end-March 2016 to about 29500 as at end-March 2026, clearly demonstrating that the PRH waiting queue is being reduced.

Slight fluctuations expected in near term amid PRH completion peak over next five years

As the number of general applicants to be housed toPRH or LPH in the next quarter may be lower than this quarter, the CWT in the next quarter is expected to slightly fluctuate; it is nevertheless anticipated to be capped at 5.0 years, indicating that the CWT is still on a downward trend.

Looking ahead to the next five years starting from 2026-27 onwards, the overall public housing production (including LPH) will be about 196 000 units, over 80 per cent higher than when the current-term Government took office. Among them, about 115 000 PRH flats will be completed during this period, reaching the peak in supply. In respect of LPH, about 9 650 units have been completed and have now been fully occupied as at the first quarter of 2026, and about 20150 and 200 units will be successively completed in the remainder of 2026 and early 2027 respectively, gradually moving towards the target of completing the construction of about 30 000 LPH units by 2027-28.

CWT entering new stage and moving towards 4.5 years target

Under the current-term Government's unremitting efforts to "enhance speed, quantity, quality and efficiency" over the past four years, the back-loaded situation has been completely reversed by the public housing production. This shift has enabled faster fulfilment of the housing needs of low-income families. The CWT will move towards the target of reducing it to 4.5 years in 2026-27.

Source: AI-found images

Approved pedestrian links in Ngau Chi Wan to enhance district accessibility and walkability

The Development Bureau (DEVB) announced today (May 14) that the Chief Executive (CE) in Council has approved an application to provide pedestrian links in Ngau Chi Wan (location plan at Annex), waiving the land premium payable, exempting the additional gross floor area of about 334 square metres and approving the proposed opening hours of the relevant public pedestrian links.

The abovementioned application is the ninth application approved by the CE in Council under the scheme of Facilitating Provision of Pedestrian Links by the Private Sector, endorsed in 2015. The scheme encourages developers through premium waivers to finance the design, construct and manage footbridges or subways linking to public transport facilities or public pedestrian linkage systems, bringing both tangible and intangible social value through creating a comfortable, all-weather walking environment to facilitate and encourage public travel, and increasing the footfalls for nearby businesses.

A DEVB spokesperson said that the application is proposed by the developer of the private composite residential-and-commercial development under construction at 35 Clear Water Bay Road. In addition to the requirement under lease to construct a pedestrian footbridge to connect the development to Choi Wan (I) Estate uphill, the applicant proposed to provide a more comprehensive pedestrian network in the Ngau Chi Wan area. These include providing a public pedestrian subway at B2/F of the integrated podium of the composite residential-and-commercial development to connect to the Choi Hung MTR Station, and via the development, will connect Choi Wan (I) Estate and nearby public facilities to Choi Hung MTR Station; and providing openings at B1/F and 7/F of the integrated podium to receive connections from the future Choi Hung East Station of the Smart and Green Mass Transit System in East Kowloon and Ping Ting Road East extension respectively.

The spokesperson added that the subject lot is situated at the heart of the Ngau Chi Wan area, where a number of large public housing estates are in the vicinity. The community was developed in earlier years, with relatively narrow pavements and slopes. At present, residents living uphill, including those in Choi Wan (I) Estate, have to walk along outdoor sloping roads or staircases, or take short-distance minibuses, to reach Choi Hung MTR Station, the nearby market and public facilities. This is particularly undesirable for elderly persons, people commuting with children, and mobility impaired persons.

The proposed pedestrian facilities, together with the facilities originally required under the lease, will significantly enhance the connectivity and create a more comfortable walking environment in the Ngau Chi Wan area. Specifically, it will enable the public to travel more conveniently between Choi Hung MTR Station, Choi Wan (I) Estate and the special school on Ping Ting Road East, public facilities in the vicinity of the development including medical, elderly care facilities and a wet market, as well as the future Choi Hung East Station of the East Kowloon Smart Green Mass Transit System. It is estimated that a total of about 100 000 residents and the working population from both new and existing developments in the area will benefit. The project is also expected to bring more pedestrian flows to nearby restaurants and businesses, thereby boosting the local economy.

The applicant will be required to shoulder the design, construction, management and maintenance responsibilities and related costs of the barrier-free pedestrian links, and be open for public in accordance with the approved scheme. For regulatory purposes, these requirements will be incorporated into the land documents. For this case, noting that some connection points (including Choi Hung MTR Station and the future Choi Hung East Station) do not operate round-the-clock, the CE in Council approved the opening hours of the relevant pedestrian links connecting the two stations to be aligned with the operating hours of the abovementioned railway facilities, while the remaining pedestrian facilities will continue to be open 24 hours for public use.

Source: AI-found images