Nearly 30% shell out half their income for rent: survey

The median monthly rent of low-income households amounted to RMB5,000 (US$773).

Around 28% of low-income households shelled out half or more than half of their monthly income to pay for their rent, a survey found.

The Hong Kong Council of Social Services conducted a survey to 2,108 households between 1 June 2020 and 29 January 2021.

Of the households surveyed, around 39% reported they had moved in the past three years.

Most of the respondents said they faced increasing costs, exhausted savings, or experienced feeling depressed due to the move; whilst others said they had to borrow money to cover its cost.

Some 69% of the households surveyed had children, whilst 17% were one-person households.

The median monthly rent of the households surveyed as a whole was RMB5,000, or approximately US$773.

About 78% were waiting for public housing, of which 58% have been waiting for four years or more.

“Three of the households surveyed in subdivided flats with children became single-parent households, and more than 70% lived below the poverty line,” Peace Chief Officer Wong Wo Ping said in a statement.

“However, there are not many suitable options in the market, and one-person households are facing similar difficulties,” Ping added.