5,000 Hong Kong public housing units recovered in 2 years amid crack down on ‘rich tenants’
Hong Kong Free Press
The Hong Kong government has recovered around 5,000 subsidised rental units which had allegedly been “misused” by “rich tenants” amid a crack down on pubic housing abuse.
Rosanna Law, director for housing, told Commercial Radio on Saturday that by taking back the units, the government had saved around HK$5 billion.
“It currently costs around HK$1 million to build one public housing unit, therefore HK$5 billion could build 5,000 units. And it also takes years to build new estates,” Law said in Cantonese. “However, these surrendered units only take a few months to refurnish, and then we can begin reallocating [them to people on the waiting list for public housing].”
The average waiting time for a public housing unit in Hong Kong is currently 5.7 years. In his maiden Policy Address in October 2022, Chief Executive John Lee vowed to reduce the average wait to four and a half years within four years.
Law said among the 5,000 units, 2,200 were surrendered in the 2022-23 fiscal year, and 2,800 were surrendered in the 2023-24 fiscal year.
From April to June, authorities have taken back 700 units, Law said, adding that she felt “encouraged” by the result.
The Hong Kong government has stepped up efforts to combat “rich tenants” in public housing units, vowing to check the value of tenants’ vehicles and whether they own property in the city, in mainland China or overseas, calling it a necessary initiative because of limited supply of public housing.
Law said she had been to check tenants’ vehicles in person, and successfully took back a public housing unit after identifying a new car.
“I went to the Queen’s Hill Estate and I went to check the parking lot. I found there was a new car with a China-Hong Kong cross-boundary vehicle plate,” Law said.
“We did some serious investigation [into the vehicle], and I can tell you now, we’ve taken back the unit – the tenant surrendered the unit.”
Efforts to combat abuse of public housing
Hong Kong used to require tenants who had been living in public housing units for over 10 years to report their assets and income every two years, before revising the policy last year. Since October, all tenants who have been living in public housing units for over two years are required to declare their income and assets every two years.
Any household whose income exceeds five times the income limit or whose net asset value exceeds 100 times the limit is required to move out of government-subsidised housing. The asset value includes the value of vehicles and assets in Hong Kong, mainland China and overseas.
Apart from self-reports, incentives have been introduced for property management companies to report abuses of public housing resources from last October. Companies who have made such reports will receive additional points when bidding for future tenders.
The government was also considering offering a reward of HK$3,000 to any members of the public who report suspected abuses of public housing resources. On Saturday, Law said the government was still looking into such a reward and would make an announcement later.
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