A two-month rent waiver will be provided to public rental housing (PRH) tenants to offset the financial burden of rent adjustment, Secretary for Transport & Housing Frank Chan said.

According to the PRH rent adjustment mechanism, the rent adjustment for the 2020 rent review is +9.66%, Mr Chan told lawmakers today.

He explained the global and local economic environment is worsening and the economic outlook is becoming more uncertain amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government understands that there have been calls for the Housing Authority to consider shelving the current rent review, freezing the rent, or providing rent waiver to PRH tenants.

He pointed out the Transport & Housing Bureau has been considering appropriate measures to alleviate the financial burden of the rent adjustment.

To strike a balance between the PRH tenants' affordability and the healthy and sustainable development of the authority's finances, the Government has decided to recommend the authority's Subsidised Housing Committee to provide a two-month rent waiver.

This arrangement will result in a total deficit of about $2.5 billion for the authority in the current and the next financial years, Mr Chan added.