Housing Authority recovers 1,400 public rental housing units due to misuse and violations of tenancy agreements
As of the end of September, the Housing Authority has recovered a total of 1,400 public rental housing units due to misuse and violations of tenancy agreements.
In the past two years, a total of 389 cases of violations of the Housing Ordinance have been processed, with 344 resulting in convictions. Seven tenants were sentenced to prison, with the two most serious cases receiving immediate sentences of 30 days and 14 days, respectively.
In the process of implementing the "Well-off Tenants Policies" reporting mechanism, the Housing Department discovered that 16 tenants did not accurately report their family assets when applying for public rental housing over the past year.
Investigations reveal that these tenants own properties in mainland China, with net assets far exceeding the limits for public rental housing applications. As a result, the Hong Kong Housing Authority has issued "moving-out notices" to these tenants.
In response to related questions, the Secretary for Housing, Ms. Winnie Ho stated that the Housing Authority has recovered approximately 5,000 public rental housing units in the past two years due to misuse and violations of tenancy agreements or housing policies. This figure is comparable to the scale of a new medium-sized housing estate, indicating the effectiveness of the current rectification efforts.
Additionally, the Housing Authority has strengthened random checks on the property ownership status of public rental housing applicants in mainland China. If applicants are found to have concealed income or assets, their application will be immediately disqualified, and they will be banned from reapplying for public rental housing for the next five years.
Looking ahead, the Housing Authority plans to enhance cooperation and connectivity with relevant departments and agencies in mainland China to more efficiently obtain complete property records and asset information of public rental housing applicants and tenants, further reducing the waste of social resources caused by public rental housing misuse.
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