Public housing in Hong Kong
Encyclopedia
Public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...

 in Hong Kong
is a set of mass housing programmes through which the Government of Hong Kong
Government of Hong Kong
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, commonly the Hong Kong Government, is led by the Chief Executive as Head of the Government, who is also the head of the Hong Kong SAR...

 provides affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...

 for lower-income residents. It is a major component of housing in Hong Kong
Housing in Hong Kong
Housing in Hong Kong varies by location and income.Almost 7 million people live on about 1,108 km² of space in Hong Kong.-Housing statistics:...

, with nearly half of the population now residing in some form of public housing. The public housing policy dates to 1953, when a fire in Shek Kip Mei
Shek Kip Mei
Shek Kip Mei, originally known as Kap Shek Mi, is an area in New Kowloon, the North Eastern Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong.-History:A major fire on 25 December 1953, destroyed the Shek Kip Mei shantytown of immigrants from Mainland China that had fled to Hong Kong, leaving 53,000 people...

 destroyed thousands of shanty homes
Shanty town
A shanty town is a slum settlement of impoverished people who live in improvised dwellings made from scrap materials: often plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic...

 and prompted the government to begin constructing homes for the poor.

Public housing is mainly built by the Hong Kong Housing Authority
Hong Kong Housing Authority
The Hong Kong Housing Authority is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong...

 and the Hong Kong Housing Society
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 HKHS is a non-governmental organization and non profit organization that was founded in 1948 by "members coming from all walks of life" with a donation of £14,000...

. Rents and prices are significantly lower than those for private housing
Private housing estate
A private housing estate is a term in Hong Kong that refers to a housing estate developed by a private developer, as opposed to a public housing estate built by the Hong Kong Housing Authority or the Hong Kong Housing Society. It usually is characterised with a cluster of high-rise buildings,...

 and are heavily subsidised
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...

 by the government, with revenues partially recovered from sources such as rents and charges collected from car parks and shops within or near the residences.

Public housing estates are typically built in remote or less accessible parts of the territory, but urban expansion has left some older estates now deep within the inner city. They are found in every district of Hong Kong
Districts of Hong Kong
The Districts of Hong Kong are the 18 political areas by which Hong Kong is geographically divided. Each district has a district council, which was formerly known as a district board. The districts were established in the early 1980s, when Hong Kong was under British rule...

 except in Wan Chai District
Wan Chai District
The Wan Chai District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong, located in the north of Hong Kong island. It had a population of 167,146 in 2001. The district has the second most educated residents with the highest income, the second lowest population and the third oldest residents, and is also the...

. The vast majority of projects consist of high-rise buildings, and the recent buildings usually contain 40 or more storey
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...

s.

History

On 25 December 1953, a major fire in Shek Kip Mei
Shek Kip Mei
Shek Kip Mei, originally known as Kap Shek Mi, is an area in New Kowloon, the North Eastern Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong.-History:A major fire on 25 December 1953, destroyed the Shek Kip Mei shantytown of immigrants from Mainland China that had fled to Hong Kong, leaving 53,000 people...

 destroyed the makeshift homes of refugees from Mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...

, leaving 53,000 people homeless. After the fire, and facing a surge of immigrant population, then governor Alexander Grantham
Alexander Grantham
Sir Alexander William George Herder Grantham, GCMG was a British colonial administrator who governed Hong Kong and Fiji.-Early life, colonial administration career:...

 launched a public housing program to introduce the idea of "multi story building" for the immigrant population living there, thus commencing a programme of mass public housing, providing affordable homes for those on low incomes. Some scholars have argued that the government has been overstating the role of the fire in the history of public housing in Hong Kong. For example, Faure argues that Grantham was concerned with introducing subsidized housing from as early as 1949, but encountered opposition from Chinese members of the Legislative Council.

The Shek Kip Mei Estate
Shek Kip Mei Estate
Shek Kip Mei Estate is the first public housing estate in Hong Kong. It is located in Sham Shui Po and is under the management of the Hong Kong Housing Authority...

, ready for occupation in 1954, was the first tangible manifestation of this policy. In those early days, housing units were little more than small cubicles, and the original plan was to allocate 24 square feet (2.2 m²) per adult and half that for each child under 12. However, they were in reality often occupied by more than one family, due to the extreme shortage of available housing. Facilities and sanitation were rudimentary and communal. Rents were pitched at between HK$10 and 14, without caps on income. That year, the first Housing Authority
Hong Kong Housing Authority
The Hong Kong Housing Authority is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong...

 was formed out of the Urban Council, through enactment of the 1954 Housing Ordinance. The Shek Kip Mei estate has now been extensively redeveloped.

In 1961, the "low-cost housing" scheme was introduced through the construction of 62,380 flats (capable of housing 363,000 people with monthly household incomes of no more than HK$600) in 18 estates, whilst HA accommodation would be available to those whose household incomes were between $900 and $1500.

In 1963, due to the rapid escalation of squatter numbers, squatters' eligibility for public housing was frozen, and future squatter areas came under licensing per the 1964 White Paper. The Housing Board was set up with the role of coordinating between agencies responsible for domestic housing. It made recommendations to have annual evaluations of supply and demand of housing, as well as increasing the minimum standard floor area per person to 35 sq ft (3.3 m²).

Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate, built between 1967 and 1970, was among the first group of resettlement estates built with elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...

s. All blocks were 16-floor high, and elevators from the ground floor could reach the 8th and the 13th floors.

In 1973, the Government of Hong Kong
Government of Hong Kong
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, commonly the Hong Kong Government, is led by the Chief Executive as Head of the Government, who is also the head of the Hong Kong SAR...

 announced a ten-year plan for the public provision of housing, to provide everyone in Hong Kong with permanent, self-contained housing with a target of housing. The objective was to provide 1.8 million people with "satisfactory accommodation". The Government saw as its responsibility to provide accessible housing for "the poor" – defined as those whose monthly household income was between HK$2,100 (for a family of 3) and HK$3,150 (for a family of 10).

In 1975, the Government officially opened the Oi Man Estate
Oi Man Estate
Oi Man Estate is a public housing estate in Ho Man Tin, Kowloon City District, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is the largest public housing estate in Kowloon City District. It has a total of 12 residential block completed in 1974 and 1975....

, a housing estate built on a concept of "a little town within a city". The estate of 6,200 flats, constructed on a site of 21 acres (84,984.1 m²), and capable of housing 46,000 people would have a self-contained environment complete with commercial amenities ranging from markets and barber shops to banks. This represented an innovation in that the commercial premises would serve the local estate, whilst paying a rent determined by public tender. Banks, restaurants, and other large premises would be let out on a 5 year contract, competing on a monthly rental offered, whilst tenants for smaller premises would compete on premium paid based on fixed monthly rentals. Unlike the generations of housing estates which preceded it, there would be designated market stalls and cooked-food stalls. Street vendors would be no longer be tolerated.

In 1980, the government launched the first batch of public housing in the Home Ownership Scheme
Home Ownership Scheme
The Home Ownership Scheme is a subsidized-sale programme of public housing in Hong Kong managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority...

, thereby allowing low-income families to own their homes for the first time.

A new town to be constructed on 240 hectares of reclaimed
Land reclamation in Hong Kong
Land is in short supply in Hong Kong, and land reclamation has been conducted there since the mid-19th century.-Projects:One of the earliest and famous project was the Praya Reclamation Scheme, which added 50 to of land in 1890 during the second phase of construction...

 fishponds and wetland was conceived in 1987 to house 140,000 people. Since Tin Shui Wai
Tin Shui Wai
Tin Shui Wai is an area of Hong Kong, located in Yuen Long District, in the northwestern part of the New Territories. Originally a gei wai fish pond area, the ponds were reclaimed for the development of Tin Shui Wai New Town in the late 1980s...

 was entirely a virgin development, it was conceived with wider walkways and larger open areas when compared to other urban developments in Hong Kong.

Types

Public housing estates in Hong Kong may be rented or sold under various government subsidy programmes, and are generally subject to a range of restrictions and eligibility requirements. They also vary in scale, and are built and managed under the responsibility of the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society. According to the 2006 census, 3.3 million people or 48.8 percent of the population of Hong Kong
Demographics of Hong Kong
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Hong Kong, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....

 lived in rental or subsidized-sale public housing; within that group, 31 percent lived in public rental housing, 17.1 percent lived in Housing Authority subsidized-sale flats and 0.7 percent lived in Housing Society subsidized-sale flats.

  • Public Rental Housing estates are the most numerous type of public housing estates, and are rented at discounted rates to low-income residents. They may be managed by either the Hong Kong Housing Authority or the Hong Kong Housing Society. Low-income eligibility criteria for public rental and subsidized-sale flats vary between families, the elderly and individual applicants.

  • Home Ownership Scheme
    Home Ownership Scheme
    The Home Ownership Scheme is a subsidized-sale programme of public housing in Hong Kong managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority...

     estates are subsidized-sale public housing estates for low-income residents, usually built adjacent to or within Public Rental Housing and nearly identical in construction. They are managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority and are earmarked for sale to low-income qualifiers at prices which are heavily discounted from market value, and the land value is similarly subsidized. The mortgage and resale of these units in the second-hand market are likewise restricted to eligible low-income residents. Within a public housing estate development, some blocks may be designated by the Authority exclusively for rental while others may be earmarked for sale.

  • Tenants Purchase Scheme
    Tenants Purchase Scheme
    Tenants Purchase Scheme is a scheme which allows tenants in public housing estates under Hong Kong Housing Authority to purchase their flats...

     allows existing tenants in the rented public housing estates of the Hong Kong Housing Authority to purchase their flats. As in the Home Ownership Scheme, the sale prices are set much lower than the market prices of private flats due to subsidies and restriction on selling. The Flat-for-Sale Scheme was managed by Hong Kong Housing Society and operates in a similar manner as the Tenants Purchase Scheme and the Home Ownership Scheme, making flats available for sale at concessionary prices.

  • Flat-for-Sale Scheme is a housing development scheme by Hong Kong Housing Society
    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 HKHS is a non-governmental organization and non profit organization that was founded in 1948 by "members coming from all walks of life" with a donation of £14,000...

     in 1980s. The flats under the scheme are for sale at concessionary price. It is similar to Home Ownership Scheme
    Home Ownership Scheme
    The Home Ownership Scheme is a subsidized-sale programme of public housing in Hong Kong managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority...

     by Hong Kong Housing Authority
    Hong Kong Housing Authority
    The Hong Kong Housing Authority is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong...

    . The first of such estate was Clague Garden Estate in Tsuen Wan
    Tsuen Wan
    Tsuen Wan is a bay in the Kowloon area of Hong Kong, opposite to Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged for the surrounding villages and fleets of fishing boats in the area. The town is around the present-day Tsuen Wan Station of the MTR...

    .


  • Sandwich Class Housing Scheme
    Sandwich Class Housing Scheme
    Sandwich Class Housing Scheme was a scheme by the Hong Kong Housing Society for building apartments that were sold to middle-income families, i.e. sandwich class, at concessionary prices during the 1990s. The purchases were subject to a five-year resale restriction. The first development, Tivoli...

     estates were built for sale to lower-middle and middle-income residents, known as the sandwich class
    Sandwich class
    The sandwich class is an informal term used in Singapore and Hong Kong to refer to the middle class.Very generally, the sandwich class consists of lower middle class people who feel "squeezed" — although they are not poor, they are not able to achieve their aspirations as people with a higher...

    , who did not qualify for low-income public housing in the Home Ownership Scheme
    Home Ownership Scheme
    The Home Ownership Scheme is a subsidized-sale programme of public housing in Hong Kong managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority...

     but still had trouble affording private housing. Managed by the Hong Kong Housing Society, the quality and market positioning of Sandwich Class Housing were significantly higher than public housing estates and comparable to some middle-class private developments. These units were sold at levels that were slightly below market value and came with a five-year resale restriction. Construction of Sandwich Class Housing Scheme estates ended in 2000 due to changes in the housing market.

  • Interim Housing
    Interim Housing
    Interim housing is temporary housing in Hong Kong for those not eligible for a flat in a public housing estate, but affected by disaster, fire, and redevelopment. It replaced Temporary Housing Area with buildings that are more resilient and space saving...

     is temporary public rental housing for those who are awaiting placement into public housing estates or are not immediately eligible for flats in public housing estates. Interim Housing often accommodates residents who have been displaced by disaster, fire, redevelopment or other reasons. Some of the housing reuse old blocks in public housing estates while others use pre-fabricated building components.

Designs

Several designs have been used for the blocks of the public housing projects, including:
  • Old Slab
    Old Slab
    Old Slab is a design of residential block of Hong Kong public housing estate. The building of this type consists of one or more elongated rectangular blocks, joining end by end....

    , New Slab
  • Single H (1980s), Double H, Triple H
  • Single Tower, Twin Tower
    Twin Tower
    Twin Tower is a 1970s' design of residential block of Hong Kong public housing estate. The plan looks like two hollow squares joining one corner of each square. Two towers are of different heights although their shapes are the same....

     (1970s)
  • Single I, Double I, Triple I
  • Harmony 1, 1A, 2, 3, New Harmony 1
  • Linear 1, 3, L, B
  • Trident 1, 2, 3, 4
  • Mark III, IV, V, VI
  • Cruciform, New Cruciform
  • Concord
  • Ziggurat
  • Rural Housing
  • Non Standard
  • Converted Block

Notable projects

The following is a list of selected public housing projects and their specificities:
  • Shek Kip Mei Estate
    Shek Kip Mei Estate
    Shek Kip Mei Estate is the first public housing estate in Hong Kong. It is located in Sham Shui Po and is under the management of the Hong Kong Housing Authority...

     was the first public housing estate in Hong Kong. All the blocks from the 1950s have been demolished, except Block 41 Mei Ho House, the last remaining example of the "Mark II" building in a single-block configuration. Block 41 has been graded as "Grade I historic building".
  • Model Housing Estate
    Model Housing Estate
    Model Housing Estate is a public housing estate located at King's Road between Quarry Bay and North Point in Hong Kong, near MTR Quarry Bay Station Exit C. It is the oldest existing public housing estate in Hong Kong...

     is the oldest existing public housing estate in Hong Kong, with blocks built in 1954 still in use.
  • Sai Wan Estate
    Sai Wan Estate
    Sai Wan Estate is a public housing estate in Kennedy Town, Sai Wan, Hong Kong. Built into a hillside that had to be extensively cut away in 1958 and 1959, the estate comprises 640 flats in five linear blocks of 10 to 14 storeys...

    , built in 1958, is the only public housing estate in Central and Western District
    Central and Western District
    The Central and Western District located on northern part of Hong Kong Island is one of the 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It had a population of 261,884 in 2001...

     developed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority.
  • Ming Wah Dai Ha, built between 1962 and 1978, is the oldest existing public housing estate developed by the Hong Kong Housing Society.
  • Lower Ngau Tau Kok (II) Estate
    Lower Ngau Tau Kok (II) Estate
    Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate was a 7-block public housing estate built on reclaimed land in Ngau Tau Kok, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, located opposite to the MTR Kowloon Bay Station. The demolition of the estate started in March 2010. The estate, along with the Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate, which...

    , completed in 1967 and demolished in 2010. Its upcoming disappearance attracted many visitors, to the point that tenants have complained about the nuisance.
  • Sha Tau Kok Chuen consists of 51 blocks completed between 1988 and 1991. It is the public housing estate with most number of blocks in Hong Kong.
  • Tivoli Garden, completed in 1996, was the first development under the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme
    Sandwich Class Housing Scheme
    Sandwich Class Housing Scheme was a scheme by the Hong Kong Housing Society for building apartments that were sold to middle-income families, i.e. sandwich class, at concessionary prices during the 1990s. The purchases were subject to a five-year resale restriction. The first development, Tivoli...

    .
  • Kwai Chung Estate, redeveloped between 1997 and 2008, it is the largest public housing estate in Hong Kong. It comprises 13,700 apartments in 16 blocks, and houses over 36,000 people.


Several public housing projects have received awards from the Hong Kong Institute of Architects
Hong Kong Institute of Architects
Hong Kong Institute of Architects is a professional body for architects in Hong Kong with approximately 1500 full members ,300 associates members and graduate members...

:
  • 1965: Choi Hung Estate
    Choi Hung Estate
    Choi Hung Estate is one of the oldest public housing estates in Hong Kong, located in the Wong Tai Sin District of Kowloon. The estate was built by the former Hong Kong Housing Authority and is now managed by the current Hong Kong Housing Authority...

     – Silver Medal
  • 1981: Sui Wo Court
    Sui Wo Court
    Sui Wo Court is one of the first estates under Home Ownership Scheme. It is located in Fo Tan, Sha Tin District, Hong Kong.Built in 1980, it is located on a mountain above Wo Che and east of central Fo Tan, northwest of Sha Tin. The court was designed by Palmer and Turner and received a Silver...

     – Silver Medal
  • 1981: Cho Yiu Chuen – Certificate of Merit
  • 1982: Mei Lam Estate
    Mei Lam Estate
    Mei Lam Estate is a public housing estate in Tai Wai, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong, located along Shing Mun River Channel and near Mei Chung Court, May Shing Court and Shing Mun Tunnel....

     Phase 1 – Certificate of Merit
  • 1985: Siu Hong Court – Silver Medal
  • 1987: Mei Lam
    Mei Lam Estate
    Mei Lam Estate is a public housing estate in Tai Wai, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong, located along Shing Mun River Channel and near Mei Chung Court, May Shing Court and Shing Mun Tunnel....

     Indoor Recreation Centre – Silver Medal
  • 1989: Heng On Estate – Certificate of Merit
  • 1991: Clague Garden Estate – Certificate of Merit
  • 1992: Kwong Yuen Estate
    Kwong Yuen Estate
    Kwong Yuen Estate is a public housing estate and Tenants Purchase Scheme estate in Siu Lek Yuen, Sha Tin, Hong Kong. Unlike other public estates in Sha Tin, Kwong Yuen Estate is built on sloping platform, instead of reclaimed land...

     Commercial Centre – Certificate of Merit
  • 1998: Verbena Heights – Silver Medal

See also

  • Hong Kong Housing Authority Exhibition Centre
    Hong Kong Housing Authority Exhibition Centre
    The Hong Kong Housing Authority Exhibition Centre is managed by Hong Kong Housing Authority. It is located on 3/F, Homantin Plaza, 80 Fat Kwong Street, Ho Man Tin, Kowloon in Hong Kong.The Opening Ceremony of the Centre was held in July, 2002.-Exhibition:...

  • Housing Department
    Housing Department
    Housing Department is a department of Hong Kong Government, managing public housing estates that were built by Hong Kong Housing Authority in Hong Kong. It reports to the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau, which is headed by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands.-See also:* Hong Kong...

  • Public housing in Singapore
    Public housing in Singapore
    Public housing in Singapore is currently managed by the Housing and Development Board. The majority of the residential housing developments in Singapore are publicly governed and developed and about 85% of Singaporeans live in such houses...

  • Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands
    Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands
    The Hong Kong Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands was the head of the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau, which was responsible for urban planning policy, public housing and the management and selling of public lands...

    , a former governmental position, in charge of public housing
  • My Home Purchase Plan
    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 able to repay mortgages in the long term but currently do...

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