Housing management of tenants purchase scheme : the expectation from different stakeholders and the role of Hong Kong Housing Authority

Abstract

Home ownership is a dream for many Hong Kong people. In 1997, property prices in Hong Kong soared to a new height. To meet the community’s expectation, The HK SAR Government launched which believed Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) was a solution. Through this scheme, public housing tenants were encouraged to buy their flats in their affording price. In the beginning, it received a very good response and it seemed very optimistic. However, it was severely criticized lately about the estate management and the arguments arc never ended. According to Arnstein’s model, the cause might be due to different expectations, role change and participation from various involved parties, including Housing Authority, TPS flat owners and public housing tenants in the TPS estates. Cairneross, Clapham and Goodlad (1997) implied tenant, housing manager and councilor were playing a game under the framework of tenant participation and such game determinate the rules of housing management. Thus, that may apply to the situation happened in TPS. With the vision of living in peace and contentment for TPS residents, this dissertation aims at examining the role changing of residents, from tenant to owner, and the level of resident participation in those TPS estates and eventually to exam how these conflicts occur from such changes. By applying

Arnstein's model to investigate the issue, we hope to identify the root cause and provide a light of resolution. To carry out the investigation, documentary review and interviews were conducted to gather information for analysis. Base on the findings with Arnstein's model, this paper concludes that TPS could be a good example to explain Arnstein's ladder of Citizen Participation – The change of role leads to the reallocation of estate management authority. If we can solve the management issues, TPS is a good scheme to help citizens to create comfortable living place. We hope this dissertation can help to provide a light of resolution.