Changes needed to Hong Kong public housing allocation policy to help cut waiting times for most needy, government advisers says

Housing advisers to the Hong Kong government have called for a review of the allocation policy for public flats to cut down long waiting times, with one suggesting people living in undesirable conditions, such as subdivided flats, be given priority. At a Housing Authority annual special meeting on Tuesday, members expressed concern about the average waiting time for 147,500 general applicants for rental housing, which now stands at 6.1 years, a 24-year high and double the body's pledge of three years. Cleresa Wong Pie-yue, chairwoman of the authority's subsidised housing committee, suggested applicants who lived in undesirable environments could have…