Public housing tenants to pay 10 percent more in rent

Public housing tenants will soon see rents increase by 10 percent, after a committee under the Housing Authority backed the move. The higher rents will take effect in October, but the authority has agreed to a three-month exemption period for most tenants, meaning they will not have to pay any extra before January 2025. The chairperson of the authority's subsidised housing committee, Cleresa Wong, on Friday said the waiver takes into account factors such as the impact on tenants and the authority's finances. "Although there is a waiver, the Housing Authority will have a huge burden in the coming years. We have a massive housing development plan and the economy is also not very good, so we need to be prudent in our financial management," Wong said. "Regarding this exemption, the authority has tried its best and gritted our teeth to offer this waiver. We hope that members of the public and tenants will understand." The rent adjustment will see an average increase of HK$230. Wong said none of the committee members had an issue with the 10 percent increase, and that she believed it is an amount that residents can afford. The authority reviews public housing rents every two years, with increases capped at 10 percent. Between 2012 and 2018, there was a 10 percent increase following every rental review. Wong said the mechanism, which takes into account tenants' income, has been effective, and that now is not a suitable time to review the system given the current economic situation. She also dismissed suggestions that rents should be reviewed annually or that the rate of inflation should be taken into account.