HONG KONG, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Since the launch of the public consultation on subsidizing home ownership by the Transport and Housing Bureau, RICS (HK) has formed a Housing Task Force to examine intensively on the issue with a view of making suggestions to the Bureau. After holding several roundtable meetings with both its senior and young professional members, and months of discussion and evaluations, RICS (HK) has submitted its position statement together with suggestions to the Bureau that covers the following points:
- RICS suggests the Government to adopt a holistic approach to formulate a long-term housing strategy that can be implemented, irrespective of the ups and downs of the property market, with a view of providing adequate and suitable housing units to meet the demands of different sectors of the community over the longer term.
- RICS supports the Government to subsidize home ownership for the first time buyers within the lower middle-income brackets, but such subsidization needs to be planned and implemented carefully, so as to avoid the overlap with, or the distortion, to the private sector housing market. Apart from the "sandwich-class" people, the Government could consider to subsidize the better-off or wealthy public rental housing tenants such that they could surrender their highly subsidized public rental flats back to the Housing Authority for re-allocation to other more needy families.
- Generally speaking, RICS agrees that the HOS scheme should be resurrected, with modified eligibility criteria, only for self-occupation use and with re-sale restrictions, and the number of these affordable HOS flats for sale each year should be subject to a detail demand assessment. Cash or loan subsidies could be considered as the alternative means if and only if there is sufficient supply of affordable housing flats in the private sector housing market. Otherwise, these cash or loan subsidies will only fuel the rising property prices, or mistakenly viewed by the public being another "collusion" measure designed by the Government to help the private developers during the property downturn periods.
- In addition, RICS offers the following suggestions for the Bureau to consider:
- Introduction of new administrative measures to facilitate the faster circulation of public rental housing.
- Provision of "Group B" (i.e. of better quality and size etc. than normal public rental housing as advocated by the Housing Society), public rental housing estates for applicants with higher income and asset limits than the applicants under the general waiting list for the normal public rental housing.
- Introduction of the "rent-to-buy" options.
- Increase in or expedite the supply of land (e.g. ex-staff quarters for government officials) for the housing development as well as the provision of affordable flats.
- Rezoning of agricultural land in the New Territories for housing development.
- Relaxation of density and other development restrictions for residential development sites in suitable locations.
- Imposition of clause(s) in sales conditions or lease conditions upon applications for lease modification requiring developers to allocate certain percentage of their private residential development for affordable flats for sale in the open market or by the Government to subsidize lower middle income group buyers in accordance with the Government's subsidized home ownership schemes.
- Converting existing industrial buildings in certain areas into affordable housing units (Note: the present difficulties in dealing with the associated town planning and other technical issues e.g. compliance with latest Buildings and Fire Regulations etc. can be resolved by the joint efforts of the different Bureaus of Government).
- Relaxation of town planning and other development restrictions for existing industrial land or buildings in certain areas to facilitate residential redevelopment as well as the provision of affordable housing units.
Mr David Faulkner, Chairman of RICS Hong Kong Board, said, "RICS is of the view that the Hong Kong Government needs to develop a vision for the people of Hong Kong based on the overall quality of life. This will be the basis for the government to formulate a long term housing strategy for the next 20 to 30 years, which should, allowing for minor fiscal adjustments, not be influenced by any political or economic factors."
Mr David Tse, RICS Governing Councilor and Chairman of RICS (HK) Housing Task Force, commented, "Any decisions the Government should take on housing policy needs to be based on a realistic assessment of how many homes will be needed, and the types of homes needed, tied in with a range of other factors including levels of economic growth, demographic change, and different and ever-changing households' expectations etc. That's why we have commissioned the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to conduct a comprehensive research-based study to assess the medium to long term housing needs in Hong Kong, and to examine the effectiveness, objectives, and visions of the various affordable housing or subsidized housing policies that were or are implemented by the Governments of the nearby Asian Countries, with a view of compiling a RICS housing policy submission for Government's consideration."
Dr Eddie Hui, Professor of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, in charge of the study, also a RICS member, explained that the study would cover the following two main tasks:
- Housing needs and affordability in Hong Kong: A research team will investigate housing situations in Hong Kong through different perspectives, and will come up with a projection report indicative of the housing needs in Hong Kong based on:
- Current space consumption
- Rental and ownership markets
- Mass versus luxury housing sector
- Forecast overall future accommodation needs
- Review and assessment of the affordable housing or subsidized housing policies in Hong Kong and other Asian countries: A research team will examine the objectives and visions of the respective affordable housing or subsidized housing policies implemented in Asian Countries including mainland China (Shanghai), Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand.
The findings of the study, due for completion in December 2010, will be translated in the form of a RICS policy submission, supplemented with RICS international inputs on affordable housing policies in European and American Countries, will be submitted to the Government for consideration by the end of 2010.
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About RICS & RICS Asia
RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) is the mark of property professionalism worldwide. It covers all aspects of property, construction and associated environmental issues. RICS has 140,000 members globally and represents, regulates and promotes the work of property professionals throughout 122 countries.
The RICS Asia supports a network of over 11,000 individual professionals across the Asia Pacific region with an objective to help develop the property and construction markets in these countries, by introducing professional standards, best practice and international experience. It promotes RICS and its members as the natural advisors on all property matters. It also ensures that services and career development opportunities are provided to members. The RICS Asia region covers national associations and local groups locating in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, The People's Republic of China and the SAR Hong Kong. It also has members working across the region such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos PDR, Macao, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, The Maldives, The Philippines, Timor East and Vietnam. For more information, please visit: www.ricsasia.org.
Media enquiry, please contact:
RICS Asia Public Relations Representative
Ms Belinda Chan / Ms Ava Lau
Tel: +852-2372-0090
Fax: +852-2372-0490
Mobile: +852-9379-3045 / +852-9829-2913
Email: belinda@creativegp.com / ava@creativegp.com
