Latest waiting time for public rental housing rises to 5.8 years

The latest average waiting time for public housing has increased by 0.2 years, taking it to 5.8 years in the fourth quarter of 2023, according statistics released by the Housing Authority on Wednesday. 

The average waiting time for elderly one-person applicants increased by 0.1*years, taking it* to 4 years as well. 

The HA also announced some 5,800 general applications were assigned a public rental housing (PRH) flat in Q4 of 2023, up 66 percent compared to around 3,500 logged in Q3. 

“The increase in the average waiting time in the fourth quarter of 2023 was mainly because the PRH production in 2023 was at its lowest in recent years,” the HA said. 

The HA continued that “the impact due to fewer flats available for allocation in the first three quarters of 2023 would continue to be reflected in the average waiting time in the subsequent quarters.” 

Among the 13,700 PRH flats allocated to general applicants in 2023, only about 800 were new flats whereas the remaining were refurbished flats. Given that the majority of refurbished flats were located in urban areas and extended urban districts, the waiting time of these applicants was generally longer, the HA added. 

The HA continued that as Aggressive Construction Co Ltd was involved in a fatal industrial accident in September 2022, tower crane operations at the relevant PRH construction projects had been suspended for inspection, causing delay to the relevant projects. 

Amongst these projects, the intake of 819 flats at Lai Yiu Estate in Kwai Tsing had been delayed from Q3 of 2023 in the original estimated program to Q4. 

The first batch of the intake of 6,776 flats at Fu Tip Estate in Tai Po was also postponed from Q4 of 2023 to the first quarter of this year due to the impact of the construction delay. 

“The target of capping the average waiting time at six years remains unchanged and we are also confident that the Composite Waiting Time for Subsidized Rental Housing will drop to 4.5 years in 2026/27,” the HA said.