Hong Kong subdivided flat tenants petition for standardised leases and stricter enforcement of rental controls
Hong Kong Free Press
A group of subdivided flat tenants and concern groups have petitioned the government to step up its enforcement of a law that restricts landlords from arbitrarily raising rents or overcharging for utilities.
Authorities were also asked to create a compulsory standardised tenancy agreement and regulate initial rent levels. One tenant told HKFP that her landlord had continued to overcharge her for electricity and was delaying signing a new lease since the law came into effect.
The petition outside the Central Government Offices on Friday morning came after a discussion in the legislature last week that revealed only three landlords had been successfully prosecuted out of over 1,500 suspected breaches of the law.
A government official said in the meeting that in about half of the cases they thought issuing a warning letter to landlords would “carry enough weight.”
Amended in January 2022, the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance bars landlords of subdivided flats from increasing the rent in the first two years, or overcharging tenants for water and electricity. But the amended legislation only affects leases that took effect after January 22 last year.
The subdivided flat residents who rallied on Friday said some landlords have continued to overcharge for utilities, or evaded the rental control by not renewing leases that expired after the amended law was enacted.
A lady who gave her surname as Yung told HKFP that her landlord has been charging her HK$2 per unit of electricity for her subdivided unit in an old tenant building in Kwai Chung, which was 30 per cent higher than the power company’s average tariff of HK$1.54.
“In fact my lease has expired, but [the landlord] has not come to sign and renew it,” Yung said.
Another tenant who gave her name as May, said it had become common for landlords of subdivided flats to delay signing new contracts. “They know that if a [new] lease is signed, they will have to abide by the law,” she said.
Tenants, especially more senior ones, usually would not dare reporting their landlords’ wrongdoings to the authorities, May added, as they were afraid that they might be evicted and it was difficult for elderly people to find places to rent.
Even in the few cases of landlords being convicted, Chan, a tenant of a subdivided unit at an industrial building, told reporters that the fine was too low to matter.
“When they earn enough through [overcharging], it will not matter if you fine them just a few thousand dollars,” Chan said.
During last week’s Legislative Council meeting, an official said a landlord recently convicted of three counts under the law was fined HK$18,600.
Step up measures
The two concern groups who joined the Friday rally – the Concerning Grassroot Housing Rights Alliance and the Alliance Monitoring the Government’s Implementation of Tenancy Regulations of Subdivided Flat Units – said the authorities should step up the inspection of subdivided flats instead of relying on reports from tenants.
They said the issuance of warning letters would only have “limited” deterrence and urged for stricter law enforcement.
Additionally, they said the government should make a standardised lease for subdivided flats and make its use compulsory, as they said landlords would usually buy ready-made leases from stationery stores or real estate agencies, or have no written leases at all.
The authorities were also urged to regulate the initial rent levels, as the existing law only controls the increase in rent, but not the initial rent itself.
The concern groups also said that the existing regulation could not coerce landlords to take up the responsibility for the maintenance of the flats they rent out.
May said the old tenement buildings with subdivided flats were overpopulated and potentially dangerous because of their structural safety and lack of fire precaution measures.
“We ordinary citizens are risking our lives to live in these places. Where we reside is inadequate housing. They were never meant to have this many residents. The equipment should not be so poorly-maintained and worn-out,” she said.
‘No one follows’
The issues of subdivided unit tenants still being overcharged for electricity or water and landlords not using leases that reflect the amended law were also raised by lawmaker Doreen Kong during a subcommittee meeting at the Legislative Council on Friday.
In response, Sandy Jim, an assistant commissioner of the Rating and Valuation Department, said the law would “override” any illicit rental conditions laid out by landlords, and that the landlords were legally required to oblige when a tenant asks to sign a written lease.
Jim also said tenants of subdivided flats could report their situation by filling in a form for the department to investigate if there were suspected breaches of the law. “Whenever we receive these forms, we will immediately follow up and interview the affected individuals,” she added.
However, Kong said the official “seemed to have overlooked” the fact that tenants of subdivided flats continued to face inflated utility fees.
“From what I heard, you were like: The law is very nice. We have this sample [lease] in the ordinance… But the problem is that no one follows it,” she said.
Another legislator Vincent Cheng asked if the authorities had followed up with the 788 landlords who had received a warning letter.
Jim answered that those landlords were suspected to have breached the law as they had not submitted a notice of tenancy to the department within 60 days after they rented out their units. The official said all of them had already handed in the required notice after getting the warning.
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