Winnie Ho plays down light public flat operating costs

The Housing Secretary Winnie Ho on Saturday said the operating costs for light public flats should not be compared with traditional public housing units, as the government prepares to take applications for the first of the flats. Responding to a question on an RTHK radio show, she said the new flats have a different set of facilities so an exact comparison cannot be made. "For traditional public flats, the operating cost only includes about HK$500 for cleaning and security, and about HK$400 for maintenance and repair work, so it's a total of about HK$1,000," she said. "But there are additional social welfare facilities for light public flats, and there are social welfare organisations providing services for residents. For example, there may be a shared living room for residents, and activities for them. Like transitional housing, there are shops, restaurants, or laundry services for residents." The first batch of the modular temporary units, announced in the 2022 Policy Address to fill the short-term gap in public housing supply, will be completed in Yuen Long in the first quarter of next year. About 2,100 will be available with applications starting in the next few months. Ho also said she was confident that 30,000 light public housing units would be completed by 2027 at the latest.