Editing Home Ownership Scheme (section)

==History==

In 1953, a fire broke out in the Shek Kip Mei squatter area. Over 53,000 people were homeless after the fire. The government started to build resettlement blocks to house the victims.<ref>{{cite web |title=Housing for Millions |url=https://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/common/pdf/about-us/photos-and-videos/videos/Housing-for-Millions-Transcript.pdf |publisher=Housing Authority}}</ref> The government announced a Ten- year Housing Program and established the Hong Kong Housing Authority to manage the public housing. From 1978 to 2003, the government ran the Home Ownership Scheme for PRH residents and low&middle income families.<ref>{{cite web |title=60 Years of Public Housing Development in Hong Kong |url=https://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/common/pdf/home/Housing_60th_transcript.pdf |publisher=Housing Authority}}</ref> 
The first such plan was launched in 1978 and the first batch of flats became available in 1980, the first estates being [[Yuet Lai Court]] in [[Kwai Chung]], [[Shun Chi Court]] in [[Kwun Tong]], [[Shan Tsui Court]] in [[Chai Wan]], [[Chun Man Court]] in [[Ho Man Tin]], [[Sui Wo Court]] in [[Sha Tin]] and [[Yue Fai Court]] in [[Aberdeen, Hong Kong|Aberdeen]].

In 1987, forecasting that the demand for home-ownership was on the rise, the Government launched a plan to redevelop the older housing estates, and introduced a greater choice of apartments available for purchase by public housing tenants. A Home Purchase Loan Scheme was introduced with, initially, a quota of 2,000 loans of HK$50,000 interest-free to make the downpayment on their new private-sector homes.<ref>[http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/12_01.04/113867.pdf $20b plan to solve housing problem], To Chi-hak & Esme Lau, ''The Standard'' (Hong Kong), 9 April 1987</ref>

In December 1991, there was a huge rush to buy 6,452 Housing Authority properties in 17 projects. Flats were to be sold at a discount of 40 per cent, the most attractive for several years.<ref>[http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/12_10.02/582.pdf Big rush for new release of HOS flats], Ng Kang-Chung, South China Morning Post, 18 December 1991</ref>

On 3 September 2001, Dr. Michael Suen Ming Yeung, the Chief Secretary, announced that the Home Ownership Scheme would be stopped. The Housing Authority stopped sale of HOS and PSPS flats for ten months until end of June 2002. Donald Tsang, the Chief Secretary for Administration announced that the sales of HOS flats would not exceed 9,000 a year up to 2005–06, subject to the continuing need to avoid competition with the private sector residential market. Thereafter, they expected more radical cuts in the HOS programme.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hon Donald Tsang JP |title=A statement on Home Ownership Scheme |url=http://library.legco.gov.hk:1080/articles/1064626.73855/1.PDF |website=LEGCO |access-date=5 June 2002}}</ref> The Housing Authority started to offer surplus HOS flats for sale in batches until 2011.
In 2011, the government announced the Home Ownership Scheme again because of the aspiration for home ownership.  Over 460,000 subsidised housing flats have been sold until now.<ref>{{cite web |title=Public Housing in the Era of Sustainability |url=https://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/common/pdf/about-us/photos-and-videos/videos/HA-Environmental-Corporate-Video-Transcript.pdf |publisher=Housing Authority}}</ref>