Housing officials said short-term homes for people awaiting public flats may be allowed to operate for longer than originally intended if the land they are built on is not needed for development.

The undersecretary for housing, Victor Tai, made the remark during Tuesday's Legco panel meeting to discuss transitional housing.

When asked what would happen to tenants who lost their transitional homes before being allocated a public rental flat, Tai said authorities can exercise a certain degree of flexibility.

"If there is still no long-term development plans for the lot, we can extend the operator's use of this lot to let tenants stay there for a bit longer. We in principle do not object to extension of use of such lots," he said.

"It will depend on the situation and housing needs, and we will consider that on a case-by-case basis."

The official said they can also arrange for the tenants to move to other transitional or light public housing units.

Tai added that the government will roll out a centralised online platform for people to apply for transitional flats in the last quarter of this year.