Hong Kong Housing Authority
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The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in April 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an
agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...
of the
Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino-Br ...
. In the same year, the
Resettlement Department The Resettlement Department () was a department of the Government of Hong Kong, responsible for constructing resettlement estates for homeless refugees, established in 1954. In 1973, the Resettlement Department and the Building Section of the ...
and the Building Section of the
Urban Services Department Urban Services Department () was a government department in Hong Kong. It carried out the policies and managed the facilities of the former Urban Council. After being abolished with the Urban Council in 1999, its functions were inherited by the ...
were merged to form the
Housing Department Housing Department (房屋署) is a department of Hong Kong Government and is the executive arm of the Hong Kong Housing Authority , managing public housing estates which is a statutory organisation tasked to develop and implement a public ...
, which acts as the Housing Authority's executive body.


History

The modern Housing Authority was founded in 1973. In 2005, most Housing Authority-owned shopping centres and car parks were controversially divested to
The Link REIT Link Real Estate Investment Trust (, or ; previously known as The Link Real Estate Investment Trust (, or ), managed by Link Asset Management Limited, is the first real estate investment trust in Hong Kong and currently the largest in Asia in ...
. A citywide scandal erupted in 2015 after heavy metals were found in the water supply of some housing estates, schools, and private residential buildings. The contamination was first identified at
Kai Ching Estate Kai Ching Estate () is a public housing estate in a brownfield development area in Hong Kong of the disused Kai Tak Airport. It consists of six residential buildings completed in 2013. It houses around 5,200 flats for 13,300 residents and shar ...
, opened in 2013. A task force found that the contamination was caused by solder joints with high lead content.


Responsibilities

Outside of public housing provision, the authority is also responsible for the management of public rental housing estates, interim housing estates, transit centres, demolished factories and ancillary commercial and non-domestic facilities such as shopping centres, market stalls and car parks. It also acts as the agent for the government when it comes to clearing land, and according to its own policy "preventing squatting and implementing improvements in squatter areas."Hong Kong Housing Authority About Us page
/ref> Though most commercial assets of the Housing Authority were divested to the
Link REIT Link Real Estate Investment Trust (, or ; previously known as The Link Real Estate Investment Trust (, or ), managed by Link Asset Management Limited, is the first real estate investment trust in Hong Kong and currently the largest in Asia in ...
in 2005, the Housing Authority still manages some shopping centres as well as 21 markets. There have been calls for the government to buy back the properties sold to the Link as rent increases have placed a financial burden on public housing residents.


Composition

At the time of its creation, membership of the authority was made up as follows: * Secretary of Housing (Chairman) * Eight Urban Councillors * Five unofficial members * Six official members Currently, members are appointed by the
Chief executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...
. They are: the chairman, Vice-chairman, two official members and 26 non-official members.


Roles

The Authority operates the
Tenants Purchase Scheme Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) is a scheme which allows tenants in public housing estates under the Hong Kong Housing Authority to purchase their flats. The price is set to be much lower than the market prices of private flats and Home Ownershi ...
, the
Home Ownership Scheme The Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) is a subsidised-sale public housing programme managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. It was instituted in the late 1970s as part of the government policy for public housing with two aims – to encourage b ...
and the Private Sector Participation Scheme. They were also formerly responsible for a loan scheme targeted at low-income home buyers, which provided interest-free loans of up to HK$530,000 or monthly mortgage subsidies of up to HK$3,800 to help low-income individuals or families buy their own flats. More than 8,000 low-income families are subsidised, although the scheme was halted in 2003 pending a review. In June 2004, the definitive abolition of the scheme was announced. In 2019, the 4,871 flats from six estates was largest number of subsidised homes put on the market since the Home Ownership Scheme was restarted in 2011; But only 54 of 80 randomly selected buyers turned up – a low turnout rate that would have been unheard of in the past.


Key people

Since 1 July 2007, following a reorganisation of government agencies, the role of Chairman of the Housing Authority is held by the
Secretary for Transport and Housing The Secretary for Transport and Logistics () in Hong Kong is responsible for transport and logistics related issues. The position was created in 2022 to replace the previous position of Secretary for the Transport and Housing. The position of S ...
(a position created in 2007). This role was previously held by the
Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands The Secretary for Housing () in Hong Kong is responsible for housing related issues. The position was first created in 1973 and re-created in 2022 after renamed to Secretary for Transport and Housing in 2007. List of office holders Political par ...
.Press release: "STH Appointed as Housing Authority Chairman", June 2007
/ref> The Director of Housing is Vice-chairman of the HA. Past and present Chairpersons of the Hong Kong Housing Authority have included: *
Eva Cheng Eva Cheng, GBS (; born 31 May 1960, Hong Kong) was the Secretary for Transport and Housing and the chairman of the Hong Kong Housing AuthorityAnthony Cheung Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...
: 2012–2017 *
Eva Cheng Eva Cheng, GBS (; born 31 May 1960, Hong Kong) was the Secretary for Transport and Housing and the chairman of the Hong Kong Housing AuthorityMichael Suen Michael Suen Ming-yeung GBS CBE; born 7 April 1944) who served as Acting Chief Secretary for Administration in 2005 and 2012 and as Secretary for Education of Hong Kong from 2007 to 2012. Born in Chongqing in 1944, his family fled the then ...
: 2002–2007 * Dr. Cheng Hon-kwan: 2000–2002 * Dame Dr. Rosanna Wong Yick-ming: 1992–2000 * Sir David Akers-Jones: 1987–1992


Location

The Hong Kong Housing Authority Headquarters are located at 33
Fat Kwong Street Fat Kwong Street () is a street in Ho Man Tin and Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. History Fat Kwong Street was originally a short street in Hung Hom. In 1967, the government proposed to build a new road link between Hung Hom and Mong Kok via Ho Ma ...
,
Ho Man Tin Ho Man Tin is a mostly residential area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, part of the Kowloon City District. History Section of lists of villages in the book ' (literally ''The History of Xin'an County'') published in twenty fourth year of Jiaqing era ...
,
Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
. The
Hong Kong Housing Authority Exhibition Centre The Hong Kong Housing Authority Exhibition Centre () is managed by Hong Kong Housing Authority. It is located on the 4/F of Block 3, Hong Kong Housing Authority Headquarters, Ho Man Tin. Permanently closed in March, 2022. Exhibition The Openin ...
is located nearby at 3/F, Homantin Plaza, 80 Fat Kwong Street.


See also

*
Public housing in Hong Kong Public housing in Hong Kong is a set of mass housing programmes through which the Government of Hong Kong provides affordable housing for lower-income residents. It is a major component of housing in Hong Kong, with nearly half of the population ...
*
Hong Kong Housing Society The Hong Kong Housing Society or Housing Society for short, is the second largest public housing provider in Hong Kong (the first being the Hong Kong Housing Authority). The Society housed around 130,000 residents as of 2020. The Housing Societ ...
*
The Link REIT Link Real Estate Investment Trust (, or ; previously known as The Link Real Estate Investment Trust (, or ), managed by Link Asset Management Limited, is the first real estate investment trust in Hong Kong and currently the largest in Asia in ...
*
List of public housing estates in Hong Kong This is a list of public housing estates in Hong Kong. Many of them are properties of Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA), while some of them are properties of Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS). Central and Western District Sai Wan (Kennedy To ...
*
List of Home Ownership Scheme Courts in Hong Kong This is a list of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS) Estates in Hong Kong. Estates of Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GFSHOS) and My Home Purchase Plan (MHPP) are also shown in the lists. T ...
*
My Home Purchase Plan My Home Purchase Plan is one of the public housing initiatives of Hong Kong. This plan enables eligible citizens to purchase homes by way of "rent-and-buy". The Plan aims to provide assistance to potential sandwich class home buyers who are abl ...
*
Public factory estates in Hong Kong Public factory estates are blocks of factory buildings owned by the Government of Hong Kong. Built between the late 1950s and the early 1980s, most of these industrial buildings have been demolished during the 1990s and 2000s, while some have b ...


References


Further reading

* *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Housing Authority Public housing in Hong Kong Statutory bodies in Hong Kong 1973 establishments in Hong Kong Hong Kong government departments and agencies