Hong Kong increases rents for affluent public housing tenants

Hong Kong's Housing Authority has announced a new policy that will significantly impact wealthier tenants living in public rental flats. Under this plan, their rent could more than double, and some may have to move out within four years. The government aims to discourage well-off tenants from occupying public housing. This change is expected to generate an additional revenue of HK$1.5 billion (US$1.93 million) annually. Cleresa Wong Pie-yue, a member of the Housing Authority, explained that the goal of this adjustment is to create a fairer system rather than just increase government income. Wong stated that feedback from the public indicated that well-off tenants often pay less compared to regular tenants. Currently, ordinary public housing residents spend about 10 percent of their income on housing, while wealthier tenants only pay around 7 percent. With the new rent structure, this will adjust to about 11 percent for wealthier individuals. This change aims to ensure that all tenants contribute more equally to their housing costs. The authorities believe this adjustment is necessary to promote fairness within the public housing system.