Gov’t subsidized housing application period postponed

The application period for an upcoming government subsidized housing project has been extended by a month, with the new closing date to be April 27, the Housing Bureau (IH) announced yesterday in the Official Gazette.

Along with extending the application period, the bureau has also postponed the deadline for document re-submission to May 25.

Some of the original requirements were also altered or canceled, following widespread complaints over the complicated application process.

Initially, the IH required applicants to submit a valuation report for their fixed assets. Furthermore, they would have to forgo applications they had made in 2013 for a previous economic housing project.

Another issue that stirred up public unease was the requirement that financial reports be signed by a certified accountant or auditor, should the applicant be a business owner. All three of these requirements have been removed.

The other requirements will remain unchanged. Applicants should submit the documents as required.

The extension is the IH’s delayed response to public complaints. At least three lawmakers and a commentator found the original absence of postponement “incomprehensible.”

As part of measures to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, the Macau government suspended the operation of its offices, or kept operations to a minimum last month. The special measures lasted for nearly a month.

When the head of the government, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, suspended the operation of public offices, the IH also called off applications of the housing project to align with the major policy directive.

During the special period, the bureau did not announce any extension or postponement with regards to the application, causing applicants to form long queues at the office on the first day of the government resumption, which was March 2.

The Economic Housing Scheme is a social welfare scheme provided to qualifying Macau residents only. Applicants qualify on the basis of their financial status and ownership of real properties. Since it is not welfare for all, a strict process underlies the distribution of residential units.

Applications will be ranked in relation to their structure. The law stipulates three types of structures, namely “Core Family,” such as married couples; “Non-core Family,” such as siblings; and “Individual Applicant.”

After that, the IH will review several other factors to determine whether an applicant or family is eligible to purchase an apartment.

The 2013 round attracted more than 40,000 applications to compete for just over 1,000 residential units.