Everything about Public Housing Estate totally explained
A
public housing estate is a
housing estate in
Hong Kong mainly built by the
Hong Kong Housing Authority and the
Hong Kong Housing Society.
About half of Hong Kong residents now live in public housing estates and other tower blocks with some form of subsidy. Rents are cheaper than ordinary housing, and are heavily
subsidised, financed by financial activities such as rents and charges collected from car parks and shops within or near the estates.
They are usually located in the remote or less accessible parts of the territory, but urban expansion has put some of them in the heart of the urban area.
Home Ownership Scheme flats, unlike the public housing estates, are sold to the owners at discounted prices.
The vast majority of the estates are
high-rise buildings, and the recent buildings of 2005 reach 40
storeys.
History
The 1950s
Starting in the 1953, precipitated by the rising immigrant population and the
Shek Kip Mei fire which destroyed the
shanty homes of approximately 53,000 people Hong Kong commenced a programme of mass public housing, providing affordable homes for those on low incomes.
The
Shek Kip Mei Estate (石硤尾邨), 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 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 was formed out of the
Urban Council, through enactment of the 1954 Housing Ordinance. The Shek Kip Mei estate has now been extensively redeveloped.
The 1960s
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 1975, the Government officially opened the
Oi Man Estate, 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, 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.
The 1980s
A new town to be constructed on 240 hectares of
reclaimed fishponds and wetland was conceived in 1987 to house 140,000 people. Since
Tin Shui Wai was entirely a virgin development, it was conceived with wider walkways and larger open areas when compared to other urban developments in Hong Kong.
Further Information
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