Waiting time for HK public flats down to 5.5 years

In the second quarter of this year, the average waiting time for a Hong Kong public rental flat decreased to 5.5 years, a drop from 5.7 years in the first quarter. The Housing Authority reported that the waiting time for general applicants, including families and elderly households, shortened by more than two months between April and June.

About 7,000 general applicants were allocated public rental housing during this period, the highest number since the third quarter of 2022. The city government aims to reduce the waiting period for public rental homes to 4.5 years by the 2026-27 financial year through various housing initiatives.

The government plans to build 413,000 public flats in the next decade, with the majority being completed in the latter half of the period. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu introduced the “light public housing” scheme to create 30,000 temporary homes by 2027-28 for families on the waiting list for permanent public housing for at least three years, with the goal of reducing the overall waiting time to 4.5 years by 2026-27.