HONG KONG – Public rental housing rents in Hong Kong will go up by 2.04 percent from Oct 1, the Housing Authority announced on Thursday.

The increase means each household under the city’s PRH scheme will pay an additional HK$10 ($1.27) to HK$128 each month, or an average of HK$51.

In a statement, the Housing Authority said it will notify all PRH tenants in writing one month before the new rent implementation date.

The Housing Authority’s Subsidised Housing Committee on Thursday endorsed the outcome of the latest biennial rent review, which analyzes the change in the income index between the first and second periods covered by the review.

According to the report compiled by the Commissioner for Census and Statistics, the income index of the second period of the review, which is 2025, was higher than that of the first period, 2023, by 2.04 percent.

With the average monthly rent – as at March 2026 – for PRH tenants at HK$2,519, the extent of the 2026 PRH rent adjustment will be mild, said a spokesman for the Housing Authority.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Wait for HK’s subsidized public rental housing falls below 5 years
• HK sets over 34,000 PRH flats for allocation in 2026-27
• Housing authorities endorse tightening HK's well-off tenant policies
• HK public housing tenants facing 10% rent hikes

After excluding the “well-off tenants” and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance households whose rent is paid by the special administrative region government, the monthly rent increase for more than 60 percent of the remaining PRH households will be HK$60 or less. About 90 percent of the remaining PRH households will see a monthly rent increase of HK$80 or less.

“We believe that the increase is within an affordable level for PRH tenants," added the spokesman.

The government said the financial impact of the rent hike will be softened by rates concessions announced in the 2026-27 Budget.

These concessions will be provided for the first two quarters of the financial year, subject to a ceiling of HK$500 for each property per quarter. The rates concessions, receivable by each PRH household in 2026-27, range from about HK$258 to HK$1,000.

The rent adjustments will take effect Oct 1 for both existing and newly completed PRH estates.

Rents for new estates are set according to District Best Rent Levels based on location and value per square meter of internal floor area.

Also, monthly license fees of Light Public Housing will be adjusted on Oct 1 in line with the new PRH rental levels. The fees are set at approximately 90 percent of the rents for newly completed PRH estates in the same district. Occupants will also be informed in writing one month before the new fees take effect.

During the previous review in 2024, the Housing Authority raised PRH rents by 10 percent – the maximum rate allowed under the HKSAR government’s housing mechanism.