Hong Kong government lowers down payment on subsidised flats for young parents

Young Hong Kong couples have been given another incentive to have children, with officials lowering the down payment required when buying a subsidised flat.

The Housing Authority said on Friday that a committee had approved two enhanced measures for subsidised sale flats.

Starting from the Home Ownership Scheme’s next sale exercise, the maximum mortgage loan-to-value ratio for parents with newborns or toddlers who rent private homes will be raised from 90 to 95 per cent, matching the ratio for those living in public rental housing.

To be eligible, families must have a child aged three or below by the application deadline.

The authority will also shorten the alienation restriction period from 15 years to 10 years for subsidised sale flats first put up for sale between 2022 and 2025 to “encourage more homeowners to pursue upward mobility along the housing ladder”.

“The Housing Authority has always strived for excellence and, in recent years, has been committed to enhancing the sale, financing and alienation arrangements for subsidised sale flats,” an authority spokesman said.

“These two new measures will help more families move up the housing ladder while also promoting the turnover of subsidised sale flats, providing comprehensive assistance to members of the public to achieve home ownership.”

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced in his policy address this year that the down payment requirement for families with newborns would be lowered, as part of the initiatives to encourage childbirth in Hong Kong.

The government currently sells subsidised housing under two major programmes: the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH).

“Green form applicants” – families living in public rental housing – are eligible for both schemes and can buy a subsidised home with a minimum down payment of 5 per cent of the property price.

Before the change, “white form applicants” – families renting private homes – could only join the HOS provided that their initial down payment amounted to at least 10 per cent of the property price.

The move came as the government faced mounting pressure to tackle the city’s declining birth numbers and a rapidly ageing population.

Hong Kong recorded 29,700 births between mid-2025 and mid-2026. It is the first time the city has had fewer than 30,000 births in its midyear population update since official records began in 1962.

Among other measures to drive up the fertility rate, Lee also announced in his latest policy address that the HK$20,000 (US$2,500) newborn baby bonus would be extended for another three years, while the cash bonus for second and subsequent children would be raised to HK$30,000.