Singles not ruled out of LPH, says Winnie Ho
Housing secretary Winnie Ho has played down suggestions that people who are single will be less likely to secure a Light Public Housing unit under a points system.  Applications for the first batch of the modular temporary housing flats in Ngau Tau Kok and Yuen Long begin on June 24. Only those who have been on the waiting list for public rental housing for at least three years can apply, and they will remain on the public housing list.  Under the points system, families living in poor conditions, households with infants and the elderly, and people with disabilities would be given extra marks.  Speaking on an RTHK programme on Saturday, the minister said single-person households still have a chance for a light public housing unit.  "Our entire social structure is centred on the family. Families take care of elderly people and children. They often have greater burdens and face situations which are more complex. So it's designed with families in mind," she said.  "Individuals, who are single, can still apply for light public housing because they can still qualify in certain circumstances." With the majority of flats designed for one or two people, Ho said the provision of different home sizes was based on an earlier study.  "Two people could already be considered to be a family. There are also households that have a single parent with a child. They are two people and that's a small family," she said.  "According to results from a study on subdivided flats in 2021, around 70 percent are households with one or two people. Households of three, four or more accounted for 30 percent. So based on this ratio, and because our measure is aimed at taking care of people living in such conditions, the design is based on the actual situation." With regard to the recent government clamp down on better-off people taking advantage of public housing, the minister said 14 tenants, who had failed to return a declaration form to authorities, would be told to vacate their units. They were among the first batch of 88,000 public housing tenants required to make declarations.  And for a second group of 250,000 tenants told to make declarations, Ho said more than 90 percent had returned their forms, while officials had repossessed around 1,400 units.  Separately, Ho said a task force on subdivided units would submit a report in August after collecting views on the matter. She said some had suggested such flats should be a minimum of seven to 10 square metres in size.