The government announced on Thursday it would provide homeowners of the devastating Wang Fuk Court fire with an annual subsidy of HK$150,000 over the next two years. The subsidy will be paid in installments of HK$75,000 every half year to each affected household. This will also cover owners of Wang Chi House, the only building in the Tai Po estate that was not damaged by the blaze. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk noted that while there were still some 1,000 transitional housing units available to rehouse affected residents, many had expressed the desire to rent a private unit themselves. “We have, through the feedback from our social workers assigned to look after individual households, and also through district feedback, that many residents actually wanted to have another option of a rental subsidy to be given to them so that they can, from the private market, rent suitable accommodation which can fit into their daily routines,” he said. In addition, a one-off relocation subsidy of HK$50,000 will be given to each affected household. Cheuk said Wang Fuk Court tenants currently staying in transitional housing or units provided by the Housing Society will get rent waivers until the end of May. But Cheuk, who leads the task force on emergency aid and donations, added that people must move into a private unit before the end of May to qualify for the relocation subsidy. He said tenants had more flexibility in their options compared to homeowners and should have sufficient time to find a unit in the private housing market over the next five months. Cheuk also noted that disbursements so far from the government support fund, which had reached nearly HK$3.8 billion thanks to public donations, had reached HK$1.2 billion.