The Housing Authority has approved the termination of the Home Assistance Loan Scheme. All remaining eligible applications registered in 2003-04 will continue to be processed.

Applications closed last November as the number received exceeded the approved quota of 10,000.

The authority said the termination will help it concentrate its limited resources on providing public rental housing to those in need and enable it to withdraw from performing the role of commercial banks and interfering with the banking sector in providing loan facilities to flat purchasers with the use of public funds.

The decision of home ownership should be left to the market and should not be swayed by intervention from the Government with the provision of the loan scheme.

It is determined to withdraw from the residential property market with minimal market intervention, which is important in sustaining a healthy and steady property market and should be beneficial to the community as a whole.

The scheme provides interest-free loans of up to $530,000 or monthly mortgage subsidies of up to $3,800 to help eligible families and single persons buy their own flats.

Since its inception early last year, 4,117 loans and 4,320 subsidies were granted.