Hong Kong lawmakers urge rethink of housing development policy for elderly

Lawmakers say government must reassess scheme to develop public rental flats for elderly by balancing costs and providing services, not just homes

Hong Kong lawmakers have called for a rethink of a government scheme to develop homes for the elderly, days after the city’s second largest public housing provider revealed it would stop building homes targeting senior residents for the coming 10 years.

Lawmaker Andrew Lam Siu-lo of the Legislative Council’s housing panel said on Monday that the government had not been proactive enough in formulating a comprehensive elderly housing policy, urging authorities to provide new incentives for elderly-focused housing.

“We’re not just talking about whether to build new flats, but also the services that make the Senior Citizen Residences Scheme attractive. These services need all sorts of incentives to stimulate the creation of a new market,” Lam said on a radio programme.

The Hong Kong Housing Society revealed over the weekend that it would not be developing any new projects under the Senior Citizen Residences Scheme in the coming 10 years.

“Solely relying on us to provide elderly-focused housing cannot resolve the housing demand among the elderly. This is because it is impossible to build millions of units,” the society’s chairman Ling Kar-kan said on Saturday.

Ling instead proposed integrating elderly-friendly elements in other new flats. For two two coming renovation projects – phase two of Kwun Tong Garden Estate and Ming Wah Dai Ha in Shau Kei Wan – which covered 800 Senior Citizen Residences Scheme units, the Housing Society would replan them for other purposes.

Launched in 1999, the scheme aims to provide long-term rental housing to elderly residents. Tenants are granted a “lease-for-life” arrangement after paying a one-off entry lump sum. Thereafter, they are only required to pay monthly management, service and government fees.