The following is issued on behalf of the Housing Authority: 

The Housing Department is making good progress in minimizing the number of vacant flats in public rental housing estates. 

According to departmental statistics, total number of lettable vacant flats had been reduced significantly from 14,900 to 9,500 between July and September this year.

"The present stock, representing only less than 1.5 per cent of a total of 667,000 rental flats, will be sufficient for about three months' consumption at the normal letting rate of 3,500 flats per month," a spokesman for the department said. 

"At the end of September, 3,700 vacant flats had been allocated or were being processed for allocation, while advance allocation had been arranged for 1,060 flats still under refurbishment to allow prospective tenants more time to prepare for the removal," he added. 

Meanwhile, some 2,300 vacated flats had been recovered during the quarter as a result of voluntary surrender, transfers and purchase of Home Ownership Scheme flats by public housing tenants. 

"The Department is exploring the feasibility to adopt measures to minimize the number of vacant flats by reducing the turn-around time for each flat from an average of four months to less than three months," the spokesman said. End
Sunday, December 3, 1995