Purpose

At the Panel meeting held on 5 July 1999, Members discussed the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme (SCHS) and requested the Administration to elaborate on the eligibility of defaulted purchasers⁽¹⁾ for other subsidised housing benefits. This paper briefs Members on the subject.

The policy

2. Currently, applicants under all subsidised housing schemes, including SCHS, are subject to a property ownership restriction rule. Details are set out at Annex. The property ownership restriction rule aims to ensure equitable allocation of public housing resources. It prevents those who own properties or have recently owned properties from acquiring public housing benefits because these people generally have no pressing need for subsidised housing.

Sandwich Class Housing Scheme

3. A SCHS buyer acquires an "equitable interest" in the property once he has signed the Agreement for Sale and Purchase. He is regarded as having owned property even though he has not completed the transaction.

4. Defaulted SCHS buyers may enjoy other subsidised housing benefits in future provided they meet all eligibility criteria, including the property ownership restriction rule, applying to individual schemes. For instance, a defaulted SCHS purchaser may apply under the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) two years after default, if he meets all the other prevailing eligibility criteria for the HOS.

5. If a SCHS buyer has completed his transaction, he and his family members listed in his application will be considered as having enjoyed public housing benefits. They will be excluded from the enjoyment of other public housing subsidies offered by the Government (through the Housing Authority and the Housing Society)⁽²⁾.


Housing Bureau
Government Secretariat
September 1999

Annex

Operator	Subsidized Housing Scheme	Property Ownership Restriction Period (Number of years before date of application)
Housing Authority	Public rental housing	2
	Home Ownership Scheme/Private Sector Participation Scheme	2*
	Home Purchase Loan Scheme	2*
	Buy-or-rent Scheme	2
Housing Society	Flat-for-Sale Scheme	2*
	Sandwich Class Housing Scheme	5*
	Home Starter Loan Scheme	10

* It refers to the property ownership restriction period applied to non-green form applicants.



(1) Defaulted SCHS purchasers refer to those who have signed the Agreement for Sale and Purchase for SCHS flats, but do not complete the transactions.

(2) If family members subsequently wish to apply under another subsidised housing scheme, the Housing Society considers on an individual basis deletion of their registration.