New 3,000-unit pilot lets HOS owners rent to white-form applicants premium-free

Owners of subsidised home ownership flats may be allowed to rent out their units to eligible white-form applicants without paying a premium starting in September under a two-year pilot scheme with a quota of 3,000 units, the Housing Authority proposed on Thursday.

The new measure is one of two new schemes discussed by the Subsidised Housing Committee, along with the "Flat-for-Flat Scheme for Elderly Owners." Both schemes are expected to be launched in September and will reportedly be managed by the Housing Society.

Owners who have held their units for at least 10 years will be able to rent out their entire flats to white-form applicants, but subletting will not be permitted. Owners will be required to pay a quarterly "rental permit fee," calculated based on the Rating and Valuation Department's district rental data and the unit's floor area. The existing rental scheme for green-form applicants will remain unchanged.

Under the elderly flat-for-flat scheme, owners aged 60 or above who have held their units for at least 10 years may sell their existing units in the second-hand market without paying a premium, but must purchase a smaller or more remote subsidised unit as a replacement.

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