Hong Kong public housing waiting time reduced to 4.7 years, the lowest record in over 8 years.

On May 14th, the Hong Kong Housing Department announced that the latest quarterly comprehensive waiting time for public housing is 4.7 years, a decrease of 0.4 years compared to the previous quarter, and the lowest record in over 8 years. Compared to the high of 6.1 years before the current administration took office, the comprehensive waiting time for public housing has been shortened by nearly one and a half years, and for the first time, it is below 5.0 years. This record is based on the calculation of applicants who have been arranged to move into traditional public rental housing or "rental assistance" units in the past 12 months as of the end of March 2026. A spokesperson for the Hong Kong Housing Department stated, "In the first quarter of 2026, we successfully arranged for a total of about 8,400 general applicants to move into traditional public housing or 'rental assistance' units, including about 1,200 new traditional public housing units, about 3,300 recycled traditional public housing units, and about 3,900 'rental assistance' units, nearly half (47%) of which are 'rental assistance' units, a significant increase from the previous quarter's proportion of 16%." The spokesperson also pointed out that since the "rental assistance" project began occupancy in March 2025, the overall supply of subsidized rental housing by the Hong Kong government has increased to an average of about 7,500 units per quarter, a significant increase. Compared to rental subdivided units, residents moving into "rental assistance" units can save over HK$50,000 in rent on average per year. With the government's multi-pronged efforts to accelerate the turnover of public housing units, the number of general applicants waiting for public housing has further decreased. As of the end of March 2026, there were about 103,400 general public housing applications, and about 81,100 applications for non-elderly single-person quotas and points-based applications. Compared to the peak of 156,400 and 143,700, the number of general applications and applications for non-elderly single-person quotas have decreased by more than 30% and over 40%, respectively. Among them, the drop in applications for non-elderly single-person quotas under 30 years old is more pronounced, decreasing by about 60% from about 71,300 in March 2016 to about 29,500 by March 2026, clearly indicating that the public housing waiting list is being digested. The Hong Kong Housing Department stated that due to the lower number of general applicants moving into traditional public housing or "rental assistance" units in the next quarter, it is expected that there will be slight fluctuations in the comprehensive waiting time for public housing in the next quarter, but it is still expected to remain below 5.0 years, showing a continued downward trend in the comprehensive waiting time for public housing. Looking ahead to the five years starting in 2026/27, the overall public housing construction volume (including "rental assistance") is expected to be around 196,000 units, an increase of over 80% since the current administration took office. Among them, about 115,000 traditional public housing units will be completed during this period, entering a peak supply period. Regarding "rental assistance" units, as of the first quarter of 2026, around 9,650 units have been completed and fully occupied, with around 20,150 units and 200 units set to be completed in the remaining of 2026 and early 2027, respectively, gradually moving towards the goal of completing about 30,000 "rental assistance" units before the 2027/28 fiscal year. With the relentless efforts of the current administration over the past four years to "accelerate, increase quantity, improve quality, and enhance efficiency", the completion volume of public housing has completely reversed the situation of being "light at the beginning and heavy at the end", which can help meet the housing needs of low-income families more quickly. The comprehensive waiting time for public housing in Hong Kong is expected to decrease to 4.5 years by the 2026/27 fiscal year.