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Elizabeth Cheung

About 5,000 Hong Kong public flats have been taken back over the past two years from “well-off tenants”, including those whose luxury cars exposed their financial situation and 12 others who own properties across the border, a housing official has revealed.
Director of Housing Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said on Saturday the number of flats reclaimed was equivalent to a medium-sized public estate, with a construction cost of about HK$5 billion (US$640 million).
“The crackdown on abuse [of public rental flats] is very meaningful and we will definitely carry on,” she told a radio programme.
Law said that while it usually took the government a few years to build a new housing estate, only a few months were needed to renovate a reclaimed flat before it could be reallocated.
There were also relatively more of those homes located in developed or urban areas, which were popular among tenants.
Authorities stepped up regulations targeting well-off public housing tenants last October after Kwong Kau, 66, the former father-in-law of slain model Abby Choi Tin-fung, was found to have owned a luxury home while buying a subsidised flat.
Under the revised rules, all tenants now have to make income and asset declarations every two years. Previously, only those who had lived in public housing for a decade had to do so.
Law said her colleagues had been watching out for expensive vehicles in public housing estate car parks after news reports had highlighted the situation.
She said she had visited the car park of Queen’s Hill Estate in Fanling and saw a new vehicle with both mainland Chinese and Hong Kong licence plates, which only specific businesspeople, political elites or philanthropists are eligible to apply for.
Law said a household in that estate had surrendered its flat to authorities after further investigations into the presence of a luxury vehicle, but she was not sure whether it was the one she saw earlier.
Tenants of another 12 flats also had to hand back their homes after they were found to own properties on the mainland or in Macau that were above the authorised asset limit, she added.
A scheme which encourages property management and cleaning companies to report tenants suspected of abusing flat rules has been in place since last September. Law said 38 homes were taken back under the initiative.

But a similar plan for individual tenants to report their peers was still under consideration, she said.
Nearly all of the 250,000 household tenants who have lived in public housing for 10 years or more have completed their income and asset declarations. Among them are 1,800 who have proactively returned flats to authorities.
But about 70 households had failed to make their declaration on time, Law said, adding the government had already issued them letters to hand back the flats.
Law also revealed that authorities were considering a plan to help young people purchase their own homes.
“It is not easy … but it can be considered,” she said. “It involves life planning and we need to think clearly.”
She earlier called on young people to not apply for public housing as soon as they could or “lie flat” – a term that originated on the mainland and means doing the bare minimum to get by.


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Hong Kong housing

Hong Kong reclaims 5,000 flats from well-off tenants with luxury cars, mainland properties

Authorities have been looking out for expensive cars in public housing estate car parks after news reports highlighted the situation. Photo: Jelly Tse

Housing director Rosanna Law says the crackdown on housing abuse will carry on. Photo: Edmond So

Hong Kong to conduct checks on public housing applicants for mainland property ownership

Hong Kong repossessed about 2,200 and 2,800 public rental flats in the past two financial years, according the city’s housing director. Photo: Jelly Tse

 Housing director Rosanna Law also warned young people against eyeing rental homes to “lie flat”.  Photo: Edmond So

380 households at Hong Kong public rental estates own private flats, official check finds

Under current rules, all public housing tenants must make an income and asset declaration every two years. Photo: Elson LI

Last year, about 180 tenants were convicted for knowingly making false statements in their asset declarations. Photo: Sun Yeung

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Hong Kong

Society

Housing director says number of flats reclaimed equivalent to medium-sized public estate, with construction price tag at about HK$5 billion


Housing director says number of flats reclaimed equivalent to medium-sized public estate, with construction price tag at about HK$5 billion.


Hong Kong property

Hong Kong society