Social News
Written by: Wang Jieen and Zhang Jiamin
2021-06-17 14:47
Last update date: 2021-06-17 18:45
The housing problem in Hong Kong is serious. The average waiting time for public housing is 5.8 years.
In the 2020 Policy Address, the government proposed to provide a three-year pilot scheme of cash allowances to distribute cash allowances to grassroots families who have been waiting for public housing for more than three years and have not received CSSA.
The Director of Housing, Wang Tianyu, gave a detailed request today (17th). A notice and application form will be issued to eligible public housing applicants at the end of June. It is expected that it will take a long time to process applications at the beginning. At the end of July, a single person can receive 1,300 yuan, and a qualified family of 6 can receive the highest amount of 3,900 yuan.
She emphasized that the cash allowance is not a "rent allowance", and also refers to the level of the CSSA payment level, describing the amount of the allowance as appropriate.
The government announced the launch of a cash subsidy scheme, which is to provide subsidies to citizens who have been waiting for public housing for more than three years. The scheme does not accept applications from residents who have been living in public housing. As for how to calculate the "waiting for three years", the public housing application will be submitted " Calculated from the "corresponding registration date", which is listed in the notification letter issued by the housing to the applicant.
90,000 people are expected to be eligible to apply for public housing
The government expects that 90,000 application forms will be issued by the end of June, which means that 90,000 people who have been waiting for public housing for more than three years are expected to be eligible.
The allowance will be paid by bank transfer at the end of each month.
At the end of each month, the office will issue notices to tenants who have been waiting for public housing for 3 years in the next month. For example, for eligible public housing applicants, if they have been waiting for public housing for 3 years in September, the authorities will The notice was issued at the end of August.
Some households will only receive the notification letter but no claim form. If the situation changes in the future to meet the eligibility criteria, the Housing Department will send the claim form voluntarily.
Each application form is unique and non-transferable
The application form is printed with household information and is non-transferable. The applicant needs to return it with the bank account passbook or a copy of the monthly statement.
The Housing Department will confirm receipt of the claim form by SMS. After the review is completed, a notice of the claim result will be mailed. After the claim is completed, it will be collected by bank transfer on a monthly basis.
Non-elderly single applicants cannot apply for allowance
The eligibility for application needs to be general public housing applicants, that is, applicants with two or more people, or applicants of the "elderly singles" priority allocation scheme, that is, non-elderly single public housing applicants cannot apply for the allowance.
Eligible persons need to have been waiting for public housing for more than three years and have not been allocated for the first time. The public housing applicant’s "corresponding registration date" shall be used as the basis and have not received CSSA.
Applicants need to live in Hong Kong, but not in public housing, including tenants or approved residents of rental units of the Housing Authority or Housing Association, or people living in transit housing.
Even if some members of the household are not eligible to apply, including people living in public housing, receiving CSSA or serving a sentence in prison, they can still apply if other family members are eligible.
The Housing Department announced the application details of the cash subsidy program. Starting this month, application forms will be sent to 90,000 eligible applicants.
(Photo by Lu Yiming)
The Director of Housing, Wang Tianyu, pointed out that the initial processing time for applications is relatively long. It is estimated that the applicant will receive the payment as early as the end of July. If the household submits the application in July and receives the subsidy only in August, the Housing Department will also send Her allowance for July and August.
As for the level of cash allowance, it will be determined according to the number of family members. A family with a maximum of 6 people can receive $3,900 per month.
When asked about criticism that the level of subsidy was low, Wang Tianyu pointed out that the subsidy level is based on CSSA, and the plan is to relieve the pressure of households and may not be used by applicants to pay rent. He believes that the level of subsidy is appropriate, and other departments have also introduced others. The subsidy scheme provides support to the public. "It is impossible for all people to be enough. It may not be possible to provide all the support."
Regarding the claim that the landlord might increase the rent in response to the subsidy amount, Wang Tianyu pointed out that the government cannot control the landlord’s increase in rent, but hopes to cooperate with the implementation of rent management.
She pointed out that the allowance is not included as part of the income, and the time when each person receives the allowance is different. She described the plan as fluctuating. During the period, applicants will go upstairs and there will be new qualified applicants. Review the plan.
▼Eight Key Points of the Policy Address 2020▼
+2
+2
+2
Policy Address│Sugar Distribution Measures at a glance
New crown pneumonia|Citizens diagnosed with a lump-sum cash allowance of 5,000 yuan are now accepting applications
Round public housing for more than 3 years to receive cash allowances, non-elderly singles, non-participated groups: disappointed
Public housing for more than 3 years can receive cash allowances. Gradually increase the labor leave until the 17th is in line with the public leave
01News
Public Housing Public Housing Waiting for Housing Allowance Housing Department 01 Video My Home
