For many Hong Kong residents, public housing is an indispensable accommodation alternative since it is an affordable, safe and stable housing option. However, there has been a severe shortage in the supply of public rental housing (PRH) units over the past few decades and demand remains extremely strong.
Despite implementation of various policy measures, the root of the housing problem in the city is a long way from being addressed. In such circumstances, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government should strengthen supervision and management of public housing resources to ensure that they can be allocated fairly to residents in need and be utilized effectively. This article will explore the latest public housing policy reforms and present analysis of the related issues.
It has long been stressed that public housing is one of Hong Kong’s most valuable resources. However, there remains a serious problem with PRH tenants misusing their units. According to data published by the Housing Department last year, in the financial year of 2021-22, around 1,300 PRH units were repossessed by the authority because of reasons such as tenants’ abuse of the units and breaches of the leasing terms. In view of the situation, the Subsidised Housing Committee (the Committee) under the Housing Authority (HA) approved and implemented several new measures on May 24. Their purpose is to ensure the fair distribution and effective use of public housing resources, and at the same time, crack down on the abuse of public housing. The major components of the new measures are as follows:
The first key element is to combat the abuse of PRH units. The new measures have strengthened the supervision and management of public housing estates by requiring tenants to make declarations every two years as to their continuous possession of the units and their compliance with the relevant terms of the lease, and at the same time, to authorize the HA to verify the information. Public housing tenants who have their tenancy cancelled because of false statements will be prohibited from making new applications for five years and they may face additional penalties such as prosecution, fines and imprisonment.
The second key element goes to optimization of the “Well-off Tenants Policies”. The new measure closes loopholes in the existing regulations and simplifies the existing policy targeting wealthy tenants. Previously, public housing tenants were only required to declare whether they own other residential properties in Hong Kong every two years after they have lived in PRH units for 10 years. The reformed policy now requires public housing tenants to make declarations to the Housing Department every two years since taking possession of their unit with regard to ownership of domestic properties in Hong Kong of both the tenant and all other family members under the lease.
Solving the deep-rooted housing problem in Hong Kong requires the combined efforts of the government, the general public and the real estate sector
The third key element concerns enhancement of the “Addition Policy” governing the addition of family members. The revised Addition Policy no longer allows elderly tenants to apply to add other adult offspring to the tenancy if there is already an adult offspring (irrespective of marital status) in the tenancy.
The new measures target tenants who make false declarations on their income, leave units vacant, sublet or re-let units, use flats for nondomestic purposes or conduct illegal activities. In the past five years, there were about 670 prosecutions over violations of the Housing Ordinance. As of November 2022, 11 residents were sentenced to imprisonment or received a suspended sentence. According to data from 2018 through 2022, the Housing Department evaluated and reviewed 238,000 income and asset declaration forms submitted by public housing tenants on average every year; and each subordinating team investigated about 6,000 cases. The process involved cross-departmental data verification such as checking with the Land Registry on whether the public housing tenant concerned had purchased or owned any residential premises without reporting them. The results revealed an average of about 690 cases of concealment of property ownership or exceeding the limit of total family assets every year, amounting to 0.3 percent of all declaration forms.
The tragic murder of the model, socialite and internet celebrity Abby Choi Tin-fung in February not only shocked Hong Kong, it also revealed that the Kwong family, who were allegedly behind the crime, had been able to purchase a Home Ownership Scheme flat with the green form status despite already owning a luxurious home worth millions of dollars.
Regrettably, the HA and the Housing Society have failed to detect many similar cases of abuse, which has allowed ineligible tenants to take advantage of the system and harm those who desperately need public housing. The problem of public housing abuse by wealthy households has still to be solved by the government, but will require the cooperation of all sectors of society.
Taking measures against well-off tenants as an example, by March 2021, the HA had issued notices to quit to about 1,000 tenants who violated the “Well-off Tenant Policies”. Although around 520 households who violated the policies owned a domestic property, only 330 ultimately returned the PRH unit. As the chairman of the HA and the secretary for housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin emphasized, the government ought to implement a wide range of measures including preventive detection, in-depth investigation, publicity and education to combat tenancy abuse and ensure that public housing resources are allocated to those who are in need the most in response to the calls of the community.
The HA’s adoption of measures to ensure the proper use of public rental housing resources proves the authority’s determination to put an end to tenancy abuse.
Solving the deep-rooted housing problem in Hong Kong requires the combined efforts of the government, the general public and the real estate sector. The government needs to formulate comprehensive policies to strengthen its supervision of various aspects to ensure effective implementation of the policies. At the same time, the government also needs to enhance its publicity and education to society to enable citizens to better understand the policy contents and objectives so that any unintentional misunderstandings or unwelcoming responses can be avoided. This is a prerequisite for public housing resources to better serve the general public and allow more eligible residents to enjoy a safer, stable and affordable housing option.
The author is a Kowloon City District Council member, and co-director of public policy and district administration of Chinese Dream Think Tank.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
