The City Council voted 6-2 today to give the OK for Mayor Peter Carlisle’s plan to sell the city’s 12 affordable rental complexes for $142 million despite reservations raised by people from the Chinatown community and a competing developer who said the plan would force 700 gap group tenants from their homes.

The agreement with Honolulu Affordable Housing Partners LLC requires HAHP to retain most of the 1,257 units as affordable rentals for the life of the 65-year lease, and pump a minimum of $42 million in improvements into the projects.

Keith Ishida, city housing office director, said city taxpayers are subsidizing the projects at a rate of $500,000 a month.