Ayra Wang
Housing authorities are considering new measures to make it easier for young people to acquire social housing.
Housing director Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said they would address the phenomenon of young people “lying flat” and living in public rental housing.
In an interview with a Chinese-language newspaper, Law said that “flat-laying” among young people is unlikely to become a trend, as the number of applicants aged 30 or younger for public rental housing has declined over the past five years.
“Lie flat” refers to the mainland concept of working just enough to afford a simple lifestyle and rejecting the pressure to overwork or overachieve.
“Young people want private housing as adults, but have to compete for social housing because property prices have skyrocketed over the past two decades,” Law said.
Housing Authority statistics show that the number of applicants for public rental housing aged 30 or younger has fallen from 2,400 in 2019/20 to 1,200 in 2023/24.
The number of non-elderly single parents also decreased by over 20 percent, from 4,800 to 3,800.
Law said the phenomenon of homelessness among young applicants for public rental housing could be curbed by increasing the supply of housing and new opportunities to acquire subsidised housing.
“With the number of homes being offered under the Home Ownership Scheme and the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme increasing, young people will realise that waiting for public rented accommodation is not a viable option, as one survey found they could have to wait up to 29 years if they apply at 18,” she said.
Law said the government plans to introduce “brand new” measures to make it easier for young people to buy property, rather than relaunching suspended programs.
In the meantime, the Housing Authority will focus on meeting its goal of delivering 308,000 social housing units within ten years and tackling the abuse of public rental housing despite budget constraints.
“The problem of subdivided units must continue to be addressed when building social housing,” Law said.
She added that the agency would also consider tougher measures against wealthy tenants in public rental housing.
