The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in April 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an
agency
Agency may refer to:
Organizations
* Institution, governmental or others
** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients
** Employment agency, a business that ...
of the
Government of Hong Kong
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino- ...
. In the same year, the
Resettlement Department
The Resettlement Department () was a department of the Government of Hong Kong, responsible for constructing resettlement estates for homeless refugees, established in 1954. In 1973, the Resettlement Department and the Building Section of the ...
The modern Housing Authority was founded in 1973.
In 2005, most Housing Authority-owned shopping centres and car parks were controversially divested to The Link REIT.
A citywide scandal erupted in 2015 after heavy metals were found in the water supply of some housing estates, schools, and private residential buildings. The contamination was first identified at Kai Ching Estate, opened in 2013. A task force found that the contamination was caused by solder joints with high lead content.
Responsibilities
Outside of public housing provision, the authority is also responsible for the management of public rental housing estates, interim housing estates, transit centres, demolished factories and ancillary commercial and non-domestic facilities such as shopping centres, market stalls and car parks. It also acts as the agent for the government when it comes to clearing land, and according to its own policy "preventing squatting and implementing improvements in squatter areas."Hong Kong Housing Authority About Us page /ref>
Though most commercial assets of the Housing Authority were divested to the Link REIT in 2005, the Housing Authority still manages some shopping centres as well as 21 markets. There have been calls for the government to buy back the properties sold to the Link as rent increases have placed a financial burden on public housing residents.
Composition
At the time of its creation, membership of the authority was made up as follows:
* Secretary of Housing (Chairman)
* Eight Urban Councillors
* Five unofficial members
* Six official members
Currently, members are appointed by the
Chief executive of Hong Kong
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...
. They are: the chairman, Vice-chairman, two official members and 26 non-official members.
Roles
The Authority operates the
Tenants Purchase Scheme
Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) is a scheme which allows tenants in public housing estates under the Hong Kong Housing Authority to purchase their flats. The price is set to be much lower than the market prices of private flats and Home Ownershi ...
, the
Home Ownership Scheme
The Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) is a subsidised-sale public housing programme managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. It was instituted in the late 1970s as part of the government policy for public housing with two aims – to encourage be ...
and the Private Sector Participation Scheme. They were also formerly responsible for a loan scheme targeted at low-income home buyers, which provided interest-free loans of up to HK$530,000 or monthly mortgage subsidies of up to HK$3,800 to help low-income individuals or families buy their own flats.
More than 8,000 low-income families are subsidised, although the scheme was halted in 2003 pending a review. In June 2004, the definitive abolition of the scheme was announced.
In 2019, the 4,871 flats from six estates was largest number of subsidised homes put on the market since the Home Ownership Scheme was restarted in 2011;
But only 54 of 80 randomly selected buyers turned up – a low turnout rate that would have been unheard of in the past.
Eva Cheng
Eva Cheng, GBS (; born 31 May 1960, Hong Kong) was the Secretary for Transport and Housing and the chairman of the Hong Kong Housing AuthorityAnthony Cheung: 2012–2017
*
Eva Cheng
Eva Cheng, GBS (; born 31 May 1960, Hong Kong) was the Secretary for Transport and Housing and the chairman of the Hong Kong Housing AuthorityMichael Suen
Michael Suen Ming-yeung GBS CBE; born 7 April 1944) who served as Acting Chief Secretary for Administration in 2005 and 2012 and as Secretary for Education of Hong Kong from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Chongqing in 1944, his family fled the then p ...
The Hong Kong Housing Authority Headquarters are located at 33 Fat Kwong Street,
Ho Man Tin
Ho Man Tin is a mostly residential area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, part of the Kowloon City District.
History
Section of lists of villages in the book ' (literally ''The History of Xin'an County'') published in twenty fourth year of Jiaqing er ...
,
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and ...
Public housing in Hong Kong
Public housing in Hong Kong is a set of mass housing programmes through which the Government of Hong Kong provides affordable housing for lower-income residents. It is a major component of housing in Hong Kong, with nearly half of the populat ...
List of public housing estates in Hong Kong
This is a list of public housing estates in Hong Kong. Many of them are properties of Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA), while some of them are properties of Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS).
Central and Western District
Sai Wan (Kennedy ...