Transitional housing measure set

2019-04-20 09:47:12

The Government announced today that the Chief Executive in Council had approved the exemption of waiver fee, rent and associated costs for land applications related to the provision of transitional housing.

The measure will facilitate more community-initiated transitional housing projects to alleviate the hardship faced by families waiting for public rental housing or living in inadequate housing.

According to the current policy, if non-governmental organisations plan to utilise private non-residential sites or buildings for provision of transitional housing, the owners should pay the waiver fees if residential use is not permitted in the leases.

If the NGOs plan to use vacant government sites or premises for provision of transitional housing, they also need to apply to the Lands Department for short-term tenancy and pay the rents.

The Transport & Housing Bureau said the facilitating measure would lessen the financial burden of NGOs.

If NGOs plan to provide transitional housing projects, they are required to sign an agreement with the bureau on operational details, including rental arrangement, management and service responsibilities.

This is a prerequisite for the Lands Department to consider exempting the fees and associated costs. 

So far, transitional housing projects initiated by the community have provided more than 600 units for needy families.

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