The Housing Authority announced that it will tighten the reselling restrictions of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) flats.

The decision, which will be enforced starting from the Sale of HOS Flats 2022 and the Sale of GSH Flats 2022, was made following a meeting of the authority’s Subsidised Housing Committee today.

It decided that, since the first assignment, the period during which the owners can only sell their HOS and GSH flats in the secondary market at not more than the original price will be lengthened from the first two years to the first five years.

Meanwhile, the restriction period for sale in the open market will be extended from the first 10 years to the first 15 years.

Under the current alienation rules, which are applicable to HOS and GSH flats first offered for sale from 2019, owners can sell their flats in the open market upon payment of premium after 10 years from the first assignment.

For resale in the secondary market where premium is not paid, the flats can be resold at no more than the original price to the categories of buyers specified by the authority in the first two years from the first assignment, and at a freely negotiated price from the third year since the first assignment.

Relevant factors have been considered prior to reaching today’s decision, the authority explained.

Such factors include the increase in the number of shorter-term transactions in the secondary market in recent years, the general public's view that HOS and GSH owners should not be allowed to trade their flats in the secondary market at a freely negotiated price soon after initial purchase and the fact that more affordable and attractive HOS and GSH flats will be offered for sale in the future.

The revised reselling restrictions would strike a balance between the need for sufficient safeguards against short-term speculation and the need to facilitate the circulation of subsidised sale flats in the market, the authority underlined.