Cash Allowance Trial Scheme Hong Kong : cashallowance.gov.hk

Organization : Government of Hong Kong
Facility : Cash Allowance Trial Scheme (CATS)
Location : Hong Kong
Country : China
Website : https://www.cashallowance.gov.hk/en/index.html

Cash Allowance Trial Scheme

The three-year Cash Allowance Trial Scheme (CATS), administered by the Housing Department (HD), aims to alleviate the difficulties on livelihood faced by grassroots families who have been waiting for public rental housing (PRH) for a prolonged period of time.

Eligibility Criteria

The target beneficiaries of CATS are the following PRH General Applicant (GA) households who are waiting for PRH

** Applicant households with two or more persons; or
** Applicants under the Single Elderly Persons Priority Scheme.

The above households must meet all the following criteria throughout the period of receiving the cash allowance, including –

** having fulfilled the general eligibility criteria for PRH allocation (e.g. within income and asset limits; with no domestic property in Hong Kong; meeting the residence requirement; not holding a valid Green Form Certificate; not having requested for putting on hold their PRH application; the PRH application concerned is not being frozen/withheld, etc.);

** having been waiting for PRH for more than three years;

** having not yet been provided with the first PRH flat offer (save for cases of “acceptable reasons” for refusing housing offers as determined by HD under the existing PRH allocation mechanism);

i. are living in Hong Kong but not living in public housing;
ii. are not receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA); and
iii. are not being detained in prison.

* Within a household, those who are living in public housing, receiving the CSSA, or being detained in prison are not eligible to apply for the cash allowance. Other family members who have met all eligibility criteria may still apply for the cash allowance.

How to Apply?

** The Cash Allowance Office will issue notification letters towards the end of each month to PRH GA households who will have waited for PRH for more than three years within the following month but have not yet been provided with the first PRH flat offer.

** Those who may also meet other eligibility criteria for applying for the cash allowance will receive an Application Form at the same time.

Note :
** Upon receiving the Application Form, please check if the PRH Application Number, and the name(s) of the Applicant and family members (if applicable) are correct.

** Before completing the Application Form, please read carefully the Application Guide for the Cash Allowance Trial Scheme.

** Sample of Application Form (Attention: The Application Form will be sent to the households concerned from the Cash Allowance Office. This sample cannot be used as an Application Form.)

Steps to Fill Application Form

** Fill in the “Personal Particulars” on Page 2;
** Fill in the “Details of Bank Account” on Page 2;

** Read carefully the “Declaration” on Pages 3 and 4 before signing on Page 4 by the Applicant and all family members aged 18 or above; and
** Submit the following required documents together with the duly completed Application Form

i. A documentary proof of the bank account for receiving the cash allowance such as a copy of a page of a passbook or of a monthly statement showing the name(s) of the bank account holder(s) and the account no. (photocopy of a bank card is not acceptable);

ii. (If applicable) A copy of the Hong Kong Identity Card (HKID Card) of family member(s) who has/have reached the age of 11 and been issued with an HKID card, but a copy of which has never been submitted to HD’s Applications Sub-section (Applications Sub-section (PRH)); and

iii. (If applicable) A copy of the One-way Permit of family member(s) who do(es) not hold an HKID Card or a Hong Kong Birth Certificate.

Submit Application Form

i. To send the form to “Cash Allowance Office, Housing Department, P.O. Box 209, Tsuen Wan Post Office” by post; or
ii. To submit the form in the drop-in box of the HD within office hours* at the following locations –

** Cash Allowance Office, Housing Department, 5/F, 1 Kwai On Road, Kwai Chung, the New Territories; or
** Hong Kong Housing Authority Customer Service Centre, 3 Wang Tau Hom South Road, Kowloon

* Office hours of the Cash Allowance Office:
Monday to Friday – 08:30 – 18:00
(except public holidays)