Vacant Public Housing Non-domestic Premises and Vacant School Premises under the Management of Lands Department

Vacant Non-domestic Premises in Public Housing Estates for Welfare Lettings

The Housing Department (HD) regularly provides the Social Welfare Department (SWD) with an updated list of vacant non-domestic premises in public housing estates which may be available for welfare services lettings to non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This list can be viewed here.

Application procedure

If you are interested in applying for any premises, please submit in writing.

(1) Submission of Application according to the specified application period

Written application should be submitted together with the relevant documents and welfare services proposal to Wing A, Level 3, HKHA Customer Service Centre, No. 3 Wang Tau Hom South Road, Kowloon (Exit A, Lok Fu MTR Station). (Attn: Senior Housing Manager / Non-domestic (Headquarters)). Late submission or application not being submitted by below designated methods will not be accepted.

1. Submit by hand or courier services company to the reception desk of the above-mentioned address within office hours (Monday to Friday 8:45 am - 6:00 pm, except 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm lunch time and public holidays) of the specified application period and be acknowledged receipt (with date of receipt shown) by Housing Department (HD) staff.
2. Submit by post to the above-mentioned address. The application date is determined by the postmark. Applications which are delivered belated or returned to the applicants due to insufficient postage will not be processed.
3. Submit by fax (Fax No.: 2794 5005) within the application period. The submission date is determined by HD's receipt record of the fax AND relevant original documents should be submitted to HD by hand, by courier services or by post as mentioned above in (i) & (ii) within 5 working days from the deadline of the application period.

(2) Documents required for HD's processing

1. Registration document under the Companies Ordinance or Societies Ordinance;
2. Memorandum / Article of Association;
3. Letter of Exemption issued by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue under Section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance; and
4. Details of the proposed welfare services, including both English and Chinese service names of the proposed welfare service, nature, scope and target of services, manpower deployment, funding arrangement, etc, to facilitate the HD to seek comments and recommendations from Government departments concerned.

Note: If the NGO already has a welfare tenancy with the HD under the same name, documents in (1), (2) & (3) in above are not required.

Enquiries and Site Viewing

If you have any enquiries on leasing procedures, please contact the following officers in the HD:

For site viewing, please contact the relevant estate management office staff as shown on the list.

Important Points to Note

1. The vacant premises are not reserved exclusively for welfare lettings.The HD will try other means of letting as situation arises, such as commercial and government leasing, etc.
2. Consultation with local residents, the Estate Management Advisory Committee and the Owners Corporation, etc, on the proposed welfare use may be required. Likewise, consent by the Independent Checking Unit for change of use of the premises may be required.
3. For housing courts under the Home Ownership Scheme, and estates under the Tenant Purchase Scheme/Buy or Rent Scheme and estates on lease grant, consent by Director of Lands for change of land use for the proposed welfare services may be required.
4. SWD will be consulted on the applications from the social welfare point of view for HD's consideration. For services not under the purview of the SWD, the HD will seek recommendations from the relevant Government departments and authorities before leasing.
5. Concessionary rent will be offered to the successful applicants. The current rate is $66 per square metre per month exclusive of rates and Government rent (if any).
6. Applications for using the premises for non-welfare purposes as administration offices, practice areas, other non-direct welfare services, or commercial and retailing activities etc. will not be accepted.
7. All welfare premises let at concessionary rent are to be let in the existing condition.

Considerations by SWD

1. The NGOs must be prepared to receive visits by the SWD staff to the premises from time to time.
2. For premises approved for running subvented welfare services, the SWD will reimburse the NGO with payment of rent and rates.
3. For premises used for running non-subvented welfare services, the NGO may apply to the SWD for reimbursement of rent and rates through the annual allocation exercise, but there is no guarantee that the application will be entertained in full or at all.
4. Except for rent and rates subsidy described above, no other additional recurrent subvention will be provided by SWD.
5. For enquiries, please contact the following officers in the SWD.

Vacant School Premises on Government Land under the Management of Lands Department Available for Application for Short Term Uses

Please refer to the following link for a list of vacant school premises on Government land under the management of Lands Department which are available for application by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for short-term uses –
http://www.landsd.gov.hk/en/land-mgt-enforce/short-term-tenancy.html#1

Interested NGOs may submit their application to the relevant District Lands Office of the Lands Department in writing and liaise with the relevant District Lands Office to arrange inspection of the site, if necessary. The application guidelines and procedures can be found in the “Guidelines for Application for Use of Vacant Government Land that is available for Community, Institutional or Non-profit-making Purposes on Short Term Basis” as per the following link –
http://www.landsd.gov.hk/doc/en/Pamphlet/guide_vgl.pdf