Blaze flat owners to get rental subsidy

December 18, 2025

Deputy Chief Secretary Cheuk Wing-hing:

While the Government has been trying to provide some emergency accommodation for the affected victims, including both landlords and tenants,  we have (heard), through the feedback of our social workers assigned to look after individual households, and also through district feedback, that many residents actually wanted to have another option of a rental subsidy to be given to them, so that they can from the private market, rent a suitable accommodation which can fit into their daily routines, such as going to work, going to school, going to the doctors. Because many residents, they have lived in Tai Po for a long time, and they have their social network there, so if they stay in the transitional housing elsewhere in Hong Kong, they have this problem of social dislocation. And also we have surveyed the stock of our accommodation, public housing accommodation in Tai Po, and actually we do not have any more such units left. So we think a sensible, practicable and effective solution is really to offer them this rental subsidy, which we think  is not an excessive demand. It is reasonable.

(To watch the full media session with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Government will give flat owners of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po an annual rental grant of $150,000 for two years, to be disbursed on a semi-annual basis with each payment being $75,000, as well as a one-off relocation grant of $50,000.

Deputy Chief Secretary Cheuk Wing-hing made the announcement at a media session this afternoon, stating that the measure rolled out by the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po is a sensible, practicable and effective solution.

“Many residents, actually, they wanted to have another option of a rental subsidy to be given to them, so that they can, from the private market, rent suitable accommodation which can fit into their daily routines, such as going to work, going to school, going to the doctor's.

“Because many residents, they have lived in Tai Po for a long time, and they have their social network there, so if they stay in the transitional housings elsewhere in Hong Kong, they have this problem of social dislocation.

“And also we have surveyed the stock of our accommodation, public housing accommodation in Tai Po, and actually we do not have any more such units left. So, we think a sensible and practicable and effective solution is really to offer them this rental subsidy, which we think it is not an excessive demand. It is reasonable.”

The rental subsidy will also extend to flat owners at Wang Chi House, the only block of Wang Fuk Court untouched by the fire. Mr Cheuk explained that this is because they are also affected due to residents not being allowed to return to the building yet.

The first installment of the rental grant and relocation grant will be disbursed from Monday through the “one social worker per household” mechanism.

Although Wang Fuk Court is not long-term or permanent accommodation for the tenants, the support fund will also provide a one-off relocation grant of $50,000 to those affected tenants when they move from the accommodation arranged by the Government to flats in the private market.

In addition, tenants who have moved into the Housing Bureau's transitional housing or Housing Society flats, or tenants who wish to temporarily move to those flats, will receive a rent-free period till May 31, 2026. If the tenants choose to stay in these flats beyond May 31, they will not receive the $50,000 relocation grant even though they eventually rent their own flats in the private market afterwards.