The allowance granted to public rental housing and interim housing households under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme will be transferred from the Social Welfare Department to the Housing Authority from June 1.

CSSA households that are receiving rent allowance covering full monthly rent payment, and are not in default of any payment, can stop paying their rent at the Estate Office from next month.

Those who are receiving an allowance that only partially covers their rent, or whose monthly CSSA payment is less than the rent allowance, are still required to settle the remaining balance at the Estate Office or other payment channels.

Out of 650,000 households, about 132,000, or 20%, are receiving CSSA. In April about 4,100 of them had rent overdue.

The Housing Department said the problem of overdue rent is not entirely related to the affordability of tenants, because the rent of CSSA households is met by the rent allowance included in CSSA payments. It hopes the problem of rent payment default will be alleviated when the direct payment arrangement becomes effective.