In order to reflect more comprehensively the effectiveness of the Government in improving the living conditions of the public through providing different types of subsidised rental housing, the Chief Executive announced in 2022 Policy Address that Composite Waiting Time for Subsidised Rental Housing (CWT) will be introduced to calculate the composite waiting time* of public rental housing (PRH) general applicants (i.e. family and elderly one-person applicants) for receiving the first offer of PRH or Light Public Housing (LPH) units.
As at end-March 2025, the CWT for general applicants that were housed to PRH or LPH in the past 12 months has maintained at 5.3 years. Among which, the average waiting time for elderly one-person applicants was 3.3 years. In the first quarter of 2025, about 4 800 general applicants were housed to PRH or LPH. Whilst the LPH has commenced intake from 28 March, it is still at its initial stage and only 83 households were housed in the first quarter of 2025. The CWT therefore maintained at 5.3 years. The remaining units of LPH will be completed by phases from 2025 to 2027, gradually moving towards the goal of completing the construction of about 30 000 LPH units by 2027-28. With the gradual completion of various PRH and LPH projects, the CWT will gradually decline.
*CWT is calculated as the average of the waiting time of those general applicants (i.e. family applicants and elderly one-person applicants) who were housed to PRH or LPH in the past 12 months, it is not applicable to non-elderly one-person applicants under the Quota and Points System. Waiting time refers to the time taken between registration for PRH and first flat offer, excluding any frozen period during the application period (e.g. when the applicant has not yet fulfilled the residence requirement; the applicant has requested to put his/her application on hold pending arrival of family members for family reunion; the applicant is imprisoned, etc). If applicants take into account their waiting time under the Quota and Points System or their frozen period, they may perceive a longer waiting time than the CWT as announced by the Housing Bureau.
Design and construction works of all the 13 LPH projects have gradually commenced. Among them, the first LPH project with about 2 100 units at Yau Pok Road in Yuen Long has already been completed, followed by immediate phased intake starting from end March this year. As at early May 2025, more than 800 households have moved in. It has not only greatly improved the living environment and quality of the families concerned, but also helped alleviate their rental expenses during the waiting period for traditional PRH.
Besides, the first two LPH operation and management contracts (covering the projects at Yau Pok Road in Yuen Long; and Choi Hing Road and Choi Shek Lane in Ngau Tau Kok, viz. Former St. Joseph’s Anglo-Chinese School) were awarded in July and October 2024 respectively. The project at Choi Hing Road in Ngau Tau Kok is expected to commence phased intake starting from end June this year. The Housing Bureau (HB) has also completed the assessment of and is currently assessing the tenders returned for the third and fourth LPH operation and management contracts respectively (covering Tuen Mun Area 3A and Olympic Avenue in Kai Tak (Phase 1) respectively), which are expected to be awarded by end May this year at the earliest. Taking into account the works progress of each project, HB will continue to invite tenders for the remaining operation and management contracts gradually this year and next.
As for the application, LPH Phase 1 application includes the projects at Yau Pok Road in Yuen Long and Choi Hing Road in Ngau Tau Kok, which will provide a total of about 4 440 units and have been open for application since June 2024. As at 23 February 2025, we received a total of about 14 300 applications. Phase 2 application covers the projects at Olympic Avenue in Kai Tak (Phase 1); Tsing Fuk Lane in Tuen Mun (i.e. Tuen Mun Area 3A); Shun On Road in Kwun Tong (converted from school premises) and Choi Yuen Road in Sheung Shui (converted from school premises), which will provide a total of about 5 060 units and have been open for application since 24 February 2025. As at early May 2025, we received a total of about 7 520 applications. In other words, since June 2024 till early May 2025, we received a cumulative total of about 21 770 LPH applications.
For the AWT for PRH, please refer to the relevant webpage on the Hong Kong Housing Authority’s website.