Enhanced rental grant arrangement for owners of Wang Fuk Court
The Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po announced today (July 17) that, regardless of which option under the Government's long-term housing arrangement plan the owners of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po choose, a two-year standard rental grant will be disbursed to them until December 21, 2027. This arrangement will help them rebuild their long-term homes with greater flexibility.
Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Photo source: reference image
The Government announced in December 2025 that the Support Fund will provide each flat owner at Wang Fuk Court with an annual grant of $150,000 from December 22, 2025, to December 21, 2027. The grant will be disbursed on a half-yearly basis, each with a payment of $75,000. When announcing the long-term housing arrangement plan in February this year, the Government decided that if flat owners just sell their titles and receive the acquisition payment, and choose not to participate in the Special Sales Exercise, their rental grants will be provided up to the date on which cash payments for acquisition are credited to their accounts. This was because flat owners could use the sum to make their own long-term housing arrangements.
Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Photo source: reference image
Under the enhanced measures announced today, regardless of whether flat owners choose to receive cash only; participate in the Special Sales Exercise for purchasing new subsidised sale flats after receiving the payment; or acquire a new subsidised sale flat under the "Flat-for-Flat" arrangement, they are eligible to receive their rental grants until December 21, 2027, even if a suitable flat could not be selected in the event under the Special Sales Exercise. The relevant arrangement is also applicable to flat owners who have not signed the "Letter of Acceptance".
For owners who choose to participate in the Special Sales Exercise (including those who opt for the cash acquisition and those who choose the "Flat-for-Flat" arrangement), if the occupation date of their chosen unit is after December 21, 2027, the Support Fund will continue to provide rental grants to owners who have not yet moved into their new units. Considering that owners generally require about three months to renovate their new homes, their eligibility for the rental grant will be maintained for three months after the date of the assignment of the new flat that they have purchased. After this period, no further instalments of the rental grant will be made.
Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Photo source: reference image
Government advances acquisition work of Wang Fuk Court at full speed
The Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, and the Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, attended the meeting of the Finance Committee (FC) of the Legislative Council (LegCo) today (July 17) to seek extra funding approval of $1 billion to make the long-term housing arrangement available to the owners of Wang Chi House (Block H), Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Together with the $2.8 billion provided by the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po and the $4 billion earmarked under the 2026-27 Budget for the acquisition of Blocks A to G of Wang Fuk Court, the Wang Fuk Court long-term housing arrangement plan will cover all eight blocks (Blocks A to H).
The Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, Photo source: reference image
The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, Photo source: reference image
Expressing gratitude to the FC for its approval of the funding, Mr Wong said that the Government will continue to advance the acquisition work of Wang Fuk Court at full speed.
As of yesterday (July 16), 90 per cent of the owners (1 786 flats) of the eight buildings of Wang Fuk Court (Blocks A to H) have submitted the duly signed "Letters of Acceptance". Among them, 1 565 letters came from the seven buildings from Blocks A to G, representing 90.1 per cent of the total number of flats in these seven blocks, while 221 letters came from Wang Chi House (Block H), representing about 89.1 per cent of the total number of flats in that block.
The Government has already signed the Agreement for Sale and Purchase with 769 owners, accounting for about 43 per cent of those who have submitted the duly signed "Letters of Acceptance".
Mr Wong said that during the FC meeting, a few LegCo Members have reflected that some residents are worried that their personal belongings remaining in the flats may not be retrievable upon transferring titles to the Government. In this connection, the Government had previously arranged for Wang Fuk Court residents to return to their flats to collect their personal belongings in two rounds. The Government is consolidating the relevant experience.
Mr Wong said that the Government has all along been striking a balance among empathy, rationality, and legality, with empathy as the priority. It will therefore adopt a people-oriented and flexible approach when addressing residents' requests for further retrieval of personal belongings from the flats. If individual residents have special needs to retrieve items left in the flats, they can make the requests through appropriate channels, including the Engagement Team and the "one social worker per household" service. The Government will consider such requests, taking into account the actual circumstances including the overall condition of the buildings, safety of the residents and working staff, as well as the substantial manpower and logistical support required, before handling the items inside the flats. The general direction is to provide opportunity for the residents to return to the flats to take their necessary belongings to tie in with their new accommodation arrangements as far as possible.
Wang Fuk Court, Photo by Bastille Post
At the meeting, Mr Wong also mentioned to Members that the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po has decided to enhance the rental grant arrangement for the owners of Wang Fuk Court.
Under the enhanced arrangement, regardless of which long-term housing arrangement option the owners have chosen, whether they have successfully purchased a flat, or even if they do not participate in the long-term housing arrangements, they will receive a rental grant totalling $300,000 over two years from December 22, 2025, to December 21, 2027. In addition, if owners opt to join the Special Sales Exercise, their eligibility for the rental grant will only cease three months after the date of the assignment of the new flat purchased. Rental grants disbursed need not be refunded, but no further grants will be disbursed thereafter.
The Engagement Team co-ordinated by the Housing Bureau will continue to maintain communication with owners of Wang Fuk Court. If there are any enquiries, owners may contact their designated Engagement Team member or call the hotline at 2129 8133. Owners may also visit the dedicated website for the long-term housing arrangements for Wang Fuk Court (www.hb.gov.hk/wfc) for further details.
Wang Fuk Court, Photo by Bastille Post
