Hong Kong authorities are considering relaunching a scheme that lets public flat tenants purchase their rented property at a discount, but they will not introduce it in the near future due to concerns about maintaining control over the housing supply.
Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said on Sunday authorities needed to study the pricing and number of flats to be offered before a pilot scheme could be launched, which would take a considerable amount of time.
Ho said the government would not reintroduce the programme quickly, fearing that its dominant role in the housing supply would be shifted to the private sector.
“[It is important] to balance the government’s dominance when we re-plan or reconsider the Tenants Purchase Scheme,” she said on a TV programme. “Introducing the scheme at an appropriate time will be vital to its success.”
The scheme would only be relaunched when the waiting time for public housing reached a level deemed acceptable by authorities, she added.
While sources had previously said Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu planned to reintroduce the scheme, which ran from 1998 to 2006, in his policy address earlier this month, he ultimately did not do so.