A plenary session of the legislature yesterday passed the outline of a government-initiated bill on social rental housing – according to which residents can apply for social housing units any time, unlike now where they can only submit their application when the government launches a new round of applications for units.
The bill proposes that an applicant needs to be a permanent resident aged at least 23, as opposed to the current minimum age requirement of 18.
The government’s public housing programme comprises subsidised home-ownership scheme (HOS) flats and social rental housing units. The government’s current public housing policy is that the construction of social rental housing be given priority over the construction of HOS flats, which are much cheaper than their counterparts in the private property market. Social housing rents are also much lower than those in the private market.
The existing by-law regulating social housing came into force in 2009. The government launched a public consultation in 2015 for the drafting of a new law regulating social housing, to replace the by-law.
All government-drafted bills must be submitted to the legislature for debate and vote. However, government-drafted by-laws, officially known as administrative regulations, do not require the legislature’s approval.
Currently, the government does not accept applications unless the construction of a new social housing estate has been completed.
The bill proposes that applications for social housing units are to be carried out on a “permanent basis” – so that eligible residents would be able apply for social housing units any time.
The bill also proposes that fulltime students, irrespective of their age, are not entitled to apply for a social housing unit as an individual applicant.
Both households and individuals can apply for social housing units both under the current by-law and the bill.
A total of 29 lawmakers cast their votes, all of which voted in favour of the bill’s outline, even though several legislators expressed doubts about some of its proposed articles such as the 23-year age requirement.
Addressing yesterday’s plenary session, Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario said that it was a “major step forward” for the bill to propose that social housing unit applications are to be carried out on a “permanent basis”.
Rosario underlined that the government has decided to propose the “permanent [application] basis” in the bill as the government is confident that it can ensure a stable supply of social housing units.
Rosario also said that currently more than 1,000 social housing units are newly available. He also said that a social housing project in Toi San district and a social housing project in Mong Ha district are currently under construction, and that the government is carrying out the design of a social housing project on the plot of land where the former CEM power station in Areia Preta district is located. He said this showed that thousands of social housing units will become available in the near future.
Rosario also said that he was willing to discuss the bill with lawmakers in detail during its in-depth article-by-article review in upcoming committee meetings. The bill is slated to be reviewed in detail by one of the standing committees of the legislature.
Rosario said, “I will discuss the bill with lawmakers article by article, clause by clause, and word by word.”
After the conclusion of its committee-level review, the bill will be submitted to its second hearing in a plenary session for its final article-by-article vote.
At the end of last year, the number of social rental housing units stood at 14,269, while the number of HOS flats amounted to 33,505, according to official figures.
Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario (right) gestures while addressing yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle while Housing Bureau (IH) Director Arnaldo Ernesto dos Santos looks on. Photo: Tony Wong
