Public housing residents protest rent increase

The Housing Authority’s subsidised housing team has decided to increase the rent of the public housing estates. The Kwai Tsing District Councillors, Mr Antony Leung and Wong Chun Tat, together with more than 70 public housing tenants in Kwai Chung Estate, went to the Ho Man Tin Housing Authority Headquarters yesterday to protest against the increase in rent. It is said that it will increase the burden on the residents. Mr Wong said that the HA had recorded a surplus of $3 billion in 2016/17. There was also a surplus in operating public housing. There was no pressure to increase rent. Huang Runda asked the Housing Authority to revise the rent increase mechanism, freeze the rent, and provide two months of rent-free per year to alleviate the burden on public housing residents.