Average waiting time for public rental flat in Hong Kong drops to 5.6 years as housing chief says future homes could be bigger

Government may be able to build bigger flats when it dominates land supply and has accelerated development procedures, Winnie Ho says

Housing secretary adds administration will try to extend lease of light public housing sites so tenants do not need to move out until public rental flats are ready

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Tackling Hong Kong’s housing shortage could allow for the creation of larger living spaces in the future, a minister has said. Photo: Jelly Tse

Published: 8:00am, 24 Nov 2022Updated: 8:11am, 24 Nov 2022

The average waiting time for a public rental flat in Hong Kong has dropped to 5.6 years, authorities have said, while the housing chief has expressed optimism that the minimum size of homes could be raised but cautioned any increase would only come later in the decade.

The Housing Authority on Wednesday announced the wait time had fallen from six years, reaching levels last reported in September 2020, mainly due to the allocation of more than 10,000 rental flats in the third quarter.

While the shorter time was in line with a six-year cap promised by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his maiden policy address in October, the wait was still almost double the government’s original pledge of three years.

Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho. Photo: Edmond So

Speaking to the Post before the shorter waiting time was revealed, Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin reaffirmed the government’s commitment to boosting the public housing supply to further shorten the queue. She also expressed hope authorities could set a larger minimum size for public flats in the future.