Government increases income and assets limit for housing applicants

Average monthly income now raised by 6%.

The income and asset limits for the public rental housing waiting list will be increased by an average of 6% and 4.2% for 2013-14, the Housing Authority announced today.

The authority's Subsidised Housing Committee endorsed the limits today, with effect from April 1.

The monthly income limit for four-people households will increase from $20,710 to $22,140, and the asset limit will go up from $418,000 to $436,000.

It is estimated that 125,200 non-owner occupied households in the private sector, representing about 29.5% of the total, will be eligible to apply for public rental housing.

Under new methods for reviewing income limits, non-housing costs are now considered with reference to either the Consumer Price Index or Nominal Wage Index.

The authority expects the number of eligible households to increase, and will monitor the number of applications to maintain the average waiting time target for general applicants at about three years.