The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) has shortened the resale restriction period for new subsidized sale flats from 15 years to 10 years, in a move aimed at boosting market circulation and supporting upward mobility among public housing tenants.
The decision was approved by the Subsidised Housing Committee on Thursday (Nov 6), alongside adjustments to the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) quota ratio and the White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM).
Under the new arrangement, the ratio of Home Ownership Scheme to Green Form Subsidized Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) flats will be set at 50:50 starting next year, while the quota for White Form applicants in the next WSM exercise will increase by 1,000 units — with half of the additional quota reserved for youth program participants.
HA Subsidised Housing Committee Chairman Cleresa Wong Pie-yue said the authority will also review the possibility of relaxing resale restrictions for subsidized sale units sold between 2022 and 2024.
Wong noted that transaction volumes of HOS and GSH flats in the open market have remained low since 2022, when the HA extended the resale restriction period from 10 to 15 years.
"Reducing the restriction back to 10 years can facilitate mobility without triggering speculation," she said.
To ensure fairness, Wong added that the HA will consider adjusting land lease terms for subsidized units sold in the past three years. For example, HOS flats sold in 2022 will remain subject to resale restrictions until 2032, allowing time for the authority to review policy implementation.
The committee also approved the issuance of approval letters suitably higher than the set quota to ensure full utilization, as about 15 to 20 percent of applicants typically do not apply for purchase qualification certificates. Any unused family quotas will be reallocated to individual applicants, aligning with the first-hand subsidized sale unit scheme.
While the committee plans to increase the proportion of larger flats under future HOS and GSH developments, Wong said the change will take time due to the current long waiting period for public housing applicants.
Wong expressed confidence that the policy adjustments — particularly the shortened resale period and quota rebalancing — will help strike a better balance between promoting home ownership aspirations and maintaining housing market stability.
