White Form Rental Scheme and Elderly Home Swap Programme Open for Applications
SingTao · 3 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago3 MIN
Summary
The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) and Hong Kong Housing Society (HS) commenced accepting applications for two pilot housing initiatives on Monday, September 28, 2026. The programmes—the White Form Rental Scheme for Unsubsidized SubsidySale Housing and the Elderly Owners' Home Swap Programme—offer a combined quota of 3,000 units . The initiatives seek to optimise the utilisation of existing housing resources while providing property owners and prospective tenants with mutually beneficial options.
Key Points
- The Housing Authority and Housing Society are implementing both schemes as pilot programmes with a total capacity of 3,000 units
- White Form Rental Scheme: Flat owners must have held property rights for 10 or more years, calculated from the deed signing date, and the unit must remain unsubsidized
- White Form Rental Scheme tenants must satisfy the latest income and asset limits for Home Ownership Scheme White Form applicants, and must not own any Hong Kong residential property from 24 months before application until receiving the tenant certificate
- Elderly Owners' Home Swap Programme: First introduced by the Housing Society in 2019 as a pilot scheme, it has now been extended to cover Housing Authority subsidized sale units
- All owners and registered family members for the Elderly Home Swap Programme must be aged 60 or above, and must not own any Hong Kong residential property (except the original subsidized flat) from 24 months before application until signing the new purchase agreement
- Eligible elderly owners may sell their original flat in the secondary market without paying land premiums and subsequently purchase a smaller or more remotely located flat, with prior approval of a Transaction Permit from the Housing Society
- Both schemes aim to facilitate the circulation of subsidized housing and offer elderly homeowners greater flexibility in managing their assets according to retirement needs
Why It Matters
These schemes address the housing needs of different demographics by providing alternatives for both elderly homeowners seeking to rightsize their living arrangements and middle-income residents who do not qualify for public rental housing yet cannot afford private market prices . The pilot programmes represent the Housing Authority's continued efforts to diversify housing options within the subsidized housing framework, potentially setting precedents for future policy expansions .
These schemes address the housing needs of different demographics by providing alternatives for both elderly homeowners seeking to rightsize their living arrangements and middle-income residents who do not qualify for public rental housing yet cannot afford private market prices . The pilot programmes represent the Housing Authority's continued efforts to diversify housing options within the subsidized housing framework, potentially setting precedents for future policy expansions .