Since the Macao SAR Government introduced the permanent application system for public housing, it has been able to effectively respond to the housing needs of the most disadvantaged members of the population.
At the beginning of the year, the government said it was closely monitoring the needs of applicant households, noting that the average waiting period is around one and a half years. It also pointed out that some applicants have been waiting longer because the size of the available units does not match their household needs. As a result, the authorities have been accelerating the construction of public housing in Zone A of the New Urban Zones.
According to the latest data from the Housing Bureau, 2,020 households are currently waiting, the majority consisting of one or two people. Under the current inquiry system, applicants can only check their score on the website, but they do not know their exact position on the overall waiting list. Among the requests for assistance I receive on a daily basis, some residents complain that they have already been waiting for three to five years.
I therefore suggest that, while safeguarding privacy, the government consider optimizing the online system by taking into account the available units and the progress of construction in Zone A. This would allow applicants to check their real-time position in the queue for their respective unit type, as well as the estimated time of allocation, thereby increasing administrative transparency.
In addition, the government has said it is studying ways to optimize allocation rules, such as assigning two-bedroom units to two-person households, in order to reduce the average waiting time. I hope this optimized mechanism can be introduced as soon as possible.
