The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (The Council), as a social housing intermediary platform, has been actively promoting social housing since 2017. The Council has been implementing the "Community Housing Movement" and the "Modular Social Housing" projects, hence engaged different community stakeholders into the movement. Both projects make use of idle properties or lands to conduct various social housing experiments. Meanwhile, different social welfare organizations and social enterprises are engaged as service operators to incorporate a wide variety of people-based, innovative social service elements into social housing. The social housing movement initiated by the civil society aims to increase housing supply, enhance the living quality of grassroots families, and build a small community through the provision of social services to enhance the capacity and participation of residents.   After a few years of efforts on advocacy, development and operation, different social housing operators have, on one hand, acquired different experiences and, on the other, been constantly reflecting upon and consolidating their experiences. For recollecting practice wisdom, consolidating experiences and assessing the outcomes achieved, we are going to organize The Social Housing Seminar, scheduled on 29th September 2020. The theme is “Experience of Developing Social Housing Service”. The Council has invited ...

Community Housing Movement is a new initiative of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. We are committed to working with property owners, NGOs and social enterprises to provide affordable and decent transitional social housing. The project is aimed at not only meeting the temporary housing needs of the grassroots without support of public rental housing, but also enhancing their individual capacity, and strengthening their community network. Through the provision of social housing, tenants are empowered to live independently in the market or move to the public rental housing after the end of a tenancy. We are going to release 185 social housing units located at Tai Po Kau for operation. The flat size is around 27 to 48 m2. The lease term is 5 years. The tentative move-in date will be around August, 2020. Now a service operator is invited to help in two parts: (1) allocate and manage 51 flats, and (2) provide community social services to all households living in these 185 flats. Agencies interested in visiting the site may contact us for further arrangement.  NGOs and social enterprises interested in providing innovative social housing services and/or in becoming our recognized service operator are welcome to submit proposal on social ...

Community Housing Movement is a new initiative of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. We are committed to working with property owners, NGOs and social enterprises to provide affordable and decent transitional social housing. The project is aimed at not only meeting the temporary housing needs of the grassroots without support of public rental housing, but also enhancing their individual capacity, and strengthening their community network. Through the provision of social housing, tenants are empowered to live independently in the market or move to the public rental housing. After the project was launched, the HKCSS has been collecting some vacant flats from different property owners who are willing to rent out their flats for more than 2 years and at the rent below market price. These flats are usually scattered across 18 districts and can’t be grouped for renting.  In view of this, we have made an alternative arrange to facilitate NGOs and social enterprises to operate.  The 2 individual owners’ units will soon be available for service operation. Pre-qualified service operators interested in operating the units, please fill in and submit the reply slip.  Units will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.   After the applicant confirms ...

Community Housing Movement is a new initiative of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. We are committed to working with property owners, NGOs and social enterprises to provide affordable and decent transitional social housing. The project is aimed at not only meeting the temporary housing needs of the grassroots without support of public rental housing, but also enhancing their individual capacity, and strengthening their community network. Through the provision of social housing, tenants are empowered to live independently in the market or move to the public rental housing. The Hong Kong Housing Society (HS) has lately launched the Letting Scheme for Subsidised Sale Developments with Premium Unpaid (the “Scheme”). Under the relevant terms and conditions, HKCSS can rent from owners of subsidised sale flats with premium unpaid (the “Flat”), who are holding valid "Certificate of Participation - Owner", for use in “Community Housing Movement”.  Based on the existing information, these flats are usually scattered across 18 districts.  Yet, they have an advantage of being close to public transportation network.  To simple the handling procedure, our Council would like to pre-appoint ONE regional operator responsible for operating the units identified in each region.  Whenever there is an available flat in ...

全港首個「組合社會房屋計劃」南昌街項目剛在上個月開展組裝工程，預計今年第二季落成並入伙。一路走來，的確不容易，滿是新挑戰，不過為了改善基層市民的生活質素，這些汗水都是值得的。 為什麼社聯作為社福機構的聯會組織，近年卻「踩過界」變成「房屋發展機構」及「二房東」？其實這與我們的本業有很密切的關係，根據多年研究及分析本港貧窮問題，基層市民在搬入公屋前最大開支便是租金及其他房屋開支，佔基層家庭的總開支超過四成，令部分基層市民需要壓縮食物開支來交租，而長時間居住於不適切住房，對家庭及兒童的身心靈帶來很多的負面影響。 社會必需直接回應基層市民的住屋問題，方可改善他們生活，故我們近年積極推動「社會房屋運動」，籌備建造組合社會房屋及推出「社會房屋共享計劃」，以可負擔的租金出租過渡性社會房屋，並透過社福機構或社企提供社會服務支援，為長期輪候公屋的基層市民提供「安樂窩」及身心靈支援。 每次探訪「社會房屋共享計劃」的住戶，他們都表示經濟壓力大為改善、生活空間上升，而最重要的是兒童在安全的環境成長，學業及人際關係均有很大改善，相信幾個月後，入住南昌街項目的150位基層街坊很快便會感到這些正面轉變。今年我們會繼續努力，籌建深水埗欽州街及葵涌業成街的兩個組合社會房屋項目，期望於來年再提供約三百個組合屋單位，幫助更多基層市民。 其實在籌建南昌街項目得到許多專業人士仗義幫忙，筆者由衷感激。他們沒有甚麼個人利益，最開心是看到基層家庭及兒童的生活得到改善，最大的回報是幫人那份滿足感，這正正突顯香港公民社會的成熟及承擔。 文章刊於2020年1月7日《AM730–蔡海偉網誌》 ...