Today (March 28), the government published the "2025 Housing (Amendment) Bill" in the Gazette. The bill focuses on three main areas: introducing a new offense for serious abuse of public housing; empowering authorized personnel to require suspicious individuals to provide personal information; and extending the statute of limitations for prosecutions related to false statements, refusal to provide information, and illegal subletting.
This aims to enhance deterrence against public housing abuse. The bill will be presented for its first and second readings in the Legislative Council on April 2, with hopes for the amendments to take effect by the end of March next year.
Since taking office, the current government has implemented various measures to strengthen the fight against abuse. The Housing Authority has recovered approximately 7,000 public housing units that were abused or in violation of lease agreements over the past two and a half years, demonstrating significant results. The Authority will continue to intensify efforts to ensure that public housing resources are focused on those most in need.
A government spokesperson stated that authorities will also enhance and maintain public awareness to ensure that public housing residents and the community understand the new measures aimed at combating abuse.
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