The government will start its process on July 8 for successful applicants to choose a flat in its high-rise rental residential building for senior citizens on Plot P in Areia Preta district, the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) announced in a statement yesterday.
The statement said that from today successful applicants can select the dates and times (starting on July 8) for them to choose the flats they want to rent, on the special website of the Plot P seniors’ rental housing programme (https://www.ias.gov.mo/government_elderly_apartments).
The bureau will also send letters to the successful applicants informing them to choose their flats, the statement said.
The building has a total of 1,815 studio-style units.
The housing estate, the first of its kind in the government’s housing programme, aims to help senior citizens living in low-rise walk-ups improve their living quality.
The programme’s first-phase application period ran between November 6 and December 31 last year, during which around 1,500 applications were submitted.
The bureau’s assessments of the rental flats’ applications are carried out based on a points-based system, according to which those living in low-rise walk-ups, those living alone, and those having held a local ID card for a longer time than others obtain a higher score.
The first-phase application round initially covered 759 flats, meaning that only the first 759 applicants obtaining the highest scores were initially slated to enjoy a 20-percent discount on their rent during their first three-year lease.
The government announced in April that it had decided to increase the number of first-phase flats from 759 to around 1,500, with the aim of enabling all successful applicants who submitted their applications during the first-phase application period to enjoy a 20-percent discount on their rent during their first three-year lease.
The housing estate has four podium levels from the ground to third floors. The fully furnished and decorated studio flats are located between the 4th and 37th floors, with the 12th floor being the tower’s refuge floor.
Each floor has 55 studio flats, each of which has a gross floor area of 53.21 square metres or a net floor area of 33.17 square metres. The building has a total of 10 lifts.
The government announced early last month that the 20-percent discount on rents now cover 1,518 flats.
The discount was initially to cover 23 flats on each floor thereby 759 flats in total. Now the discount covers 46 flats on each floor thereby 1,518 flats in total, according to last month’s announcements.
From July 8, the bureau will arrange for successful applicants to choose their flats in order based on the scores they have obtained, i.e., those with highest scores will choose their flats first.
The bureau will arrange for those renting the first 759 flats to move into their flats in the fourth quarter, while it will arrange for those renting the other 759 flats newly covered by the 20-percent rent discount to move into their flats next year.
With the 20-percent discount, the rent will range between 4,328 patacas and 5,344 patacas a month.
This diagram released by the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) early last month shows the floor plan of the government’s rental housing estate for seniors on Plot P. On each floor, the flats surrounded by the red line are those first covered by a 20-percent rent discount while the flats surrounded by the blue line are those newly covered by the 20-percent rent discount.
This handout photo released by the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) in January this year shows a show flat for the housing estate.
