BackOn 20 April 2023, the Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, announced the launch of a direct investigation into the Government’s work in combating abuse of public housing resources.
Public housing resources are precious to society. As the authorities managing public rental housing (“PRH”), the Hong Kong Housing Authority (“HKHA”) and the Hong Kong Housing Society (“HKHS”) have taken measures to prevent abuse of such resources. According to HKHA and HKHS, common types of PRH abuse include non-occupation (or not retaining regular and continuous residence), false declaration (such as income, assets, marital status and household particulars), subletting, non-domestic usage or engagement in illegal activities.
The Housing Department (“HD”), which is the executive arm of HKHA, and HKHS have both set up designated teams to investigate suspected cases of PRH abuse. Where a PRH abuse case is substantiated and the tenant’s misconduct amounts to a serious breach of the tenancy agreement, HD and HKHS can terminate the tenancy and recover the flat in accordance with the terms of tenancy. Tenants of PRH units under HKHA who conceal or make a false declaration are subject to prosecution brought by HD under the Housing Ordinance. That said, the Office of The Ombudsman has received from time to time public complaints about improper handling of reports of suspected PRH abuse by HD or HKHS.
Ms Chiu said, “Demand for public housing has always been keen in Hong Kong. Abuse of public housing not only wastes precious public housing resources, it also prolongs the waiting time of families applying for PRH. There should be a practical mechanism and measures for HD and HKHS to effectively detect and curb PRH abuse so as to ensure that public housing resources are allocated and utilised in a fair and reasonable manner. In this light, we have decided to initiate a direct investigation to examine the work of HKHA, HD and HKHS in combating abuse of public housing resources. The investigation will cover the aforesaid authorities’ monitoring of tenants’ usage of their flats, vetting of tenants’ declaration of income and assets, mechanism and measures for following up on suspected PRH abuse cases and procedures for recovering flats from tenants who have abused public housing resources. We will make improvement recommendations where necessary.”
Source: The Office of the Ombudsman of Hong Kong, China
