The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:
To tie in with the Government's latest relief measures announced by the Financial Secretary last month, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA)'s Commercial Properties Committee (CPC) today (March 5) approved the proposed extension of the existing 75 per cent rent concession for the HA's eligible non-domestic tenants/licensees, including carpark users for monthly parking of commercial vehicles, for six months from April 1 to September 30, 2021.
The CPC also approved that the HA's tenants/licensees may continue to apply to the HA for 100 per cent rent concession for the period during which their operations at the premises concerned are required to be closed under anti-epidemic regulations and directions of the Government.
"The Financial Secretary announced in the 2021-22 Budget a new round of relief measures, and the HA's extension of rent concession for non-domestic tenants is in line with that of the Government to further tide businesses and people over this difficult time," a spokesman for the HA said.
He noted that the HA would continue to adopt a flexible approach in dealing with the tenancies concerned which expire before the end of the extended rent concession period as a transitional arrangement.
"To enable tenants to continue their use and occupation of the premises upon tenancy expiry, licences will be granted at the existing rent pending agreement to the new rent for the new tenancies," he said.
"The same arrangements and coverage as endorsed by the CPC earlier will continue to apply during this round of the extended rent concession period."
The CPC has earlier approved five rounds of rent concessions for the HA's eligible retail, factory and non-domestic tenants, following the Government's measures to support enterprises and relieve people's financial burden.
It is estimated that a total of around 9 900 of the HA's non-domestic tenants/licensees, including about 2 500 retail and 3 300 factory tenants/licensees, tenants/licensees of some 70 advertising signboards and some 40 tenancies of bus kiosks, as well as about 4 000 carpark users, will benefit from the extension of rent concessions.
The rent foregone for this extension of 75 per cent rent concession for six months is estimated to be around $657.3 million.
The total rent foregone for rent concessions granted by the HA to its eligible non-domestic tenants/licensees for the 24-month period from October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2021, is estimated to be around $2,286.8 million.
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