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Illegally occupied public housing flats
Following is a question by the Hon Elsie Tu and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Mr Dominic Wong, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
In regard to unoccupied or illegally occupied flats in public housing estates, will the Government inform this Council:
(a)
(b)
(c)
of the total number of such flats in public housing estates;
what steps the Housing Department is taking to recover such flats for allocation to applicants on the waiting list, those recommended for compassionate housing, the elderly, and those living in overcrowded conditions; and
how many of such flats have been recovered in the past twelve months?
Reply:
Mr President,
The Housing Authority's tenancy agreements require tenants and their families to reside regularly in the flats allocated to them, and prohibit sub-letting or improper use of these flats. It is difficult to quantify how many tenants breach the agreements and the number of flats involved.
Since 1993, the Housing Department has set up Special Investigation Terms to deal with suspected cases of non-occupation, irregular occupation, sub-letting or improper use of rental flats. A territory-wide publicity campaign has also been launched to educate tenants on the proper use of flats and to emphasise the Housing Authority's determination to stamp out tenancy abuse. Tenants are encouraged to report suspected cases of tenancy abuse to the housing estate office concerned or by using the Department's complaints hotline.