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Following is a question by Dr Hon Joseph Lee Kok-long and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Yau Shing-mu, in the Legislative Council today (December 8):
Question:
It has been learnt that the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) (Amendment) Ordinance 2004 (the Amendment Ordinance), which came into effect in 2004, has strengthened protection to landlords against "rogue tenants", thereby boosting landlords' confidence in the rental market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the decrease in the number of complaints about "rogue tenants" received by the authorities in each of the past five years, compared with the number before the implementation of the Amendment Ordinance; whether the authorities have assessed if the implementation of the Amendment Ordinance can effectively alleviate the problem of "rogue tenants"; apart from the Amendment Ordinance, what other measures the authorities have taken to prevent the problem of "rogue tenants";
(b) whether the authorities have received any complaint about eviction of tenants after the implementation of the Amendment Ordinance; if so, of the number of such complaints received so far and the reasons for the evictions; among such complaints, of the number of those involving unreasonable evictions; what measures the authorities have taken to help those tenants facing eviction, and the number of tenants having received help, with a breakdown by type of help given; whether the authorities have assessed if the support at present provided for tenants facing eviction is adequate; if they have assessed, of the details; if not, whether they will consider conducting such an assessment; and
(c) whether the authorities have assessed if the provisions in the Amendment Ordinance can adequately protect both landlords and tenants, and avoid tilting in favour of one side; if they have assessed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government's policy regarding the private residential rental market is to maintain a stable environment and minimise unnecessary intervention, with a view to facilitating the free operation and steady development of the market.
Upon the enactment of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) (Amendment) Ordinance (the Amendment Ordinance) by the Legislative Council, rent control and security of tenure were removed in 1998 and 2004 respectively. The Amendment Ordinance was passed after public consultation and in-depth examination of the details by the relevant Bills Committee of the Legislative Council.
The Amendment Ordinance minimised the level of intervention in the private contracts between landlords and tenants. Landlords and tenants may draw up the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreements as mutually agreed, and execute the tenancy arrangements in accordance with the spirit of the contracts. This serves to protect the interest of both the landlords and the tenants. Enhancing the protection to landlords against "rogue tenants" is not the objective of the Amendment Ordinance.
That said, there is a provision in the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance (the Ordinance), which has been in existence before the Amendment Ordinance was enacted, on handling situations of tenants breaching or not observing the obligations or conditions of the tenancy agreements, such as not paying rents on the due date, by making such behaviours justifiable reasons for withdrawing tenancy. In this regard, landlords may apply to the Lands Tribunal for a repossession order to recover the premises concerned.
The Ordinance is administered by the Rating and Valuation Department (RVD). On the basis of the information provided by RVD, my reply to the three parts of the question raised by Dr the Hon Joseph Lee is as follow:
(a) RVD does not have statistics on the number of cases involving "rogue tenants". However, it has statistics on the number of cases involving mediation on rent arrears. The number of cases involving mediation on rent arrears as handled by RVD from July 2004 to June 2010 is as below. The figures show that the number of cases moved up and down during the past six years.
Period Cases involving
mediation on rent
arrears handled by RV
______ _____________________
July 2004”VJune 2005 50
July 2005”VJune 2006 80
July 2006”VJune 2007 123
July 2007”VJune 2008 99
July 2008”VJune 2009 83
July 2009”VJune 2010 65
I must emphasize that the aforementioned figures show the number of cases involving mediation on rent arrears, which should not be taken as if they are reflecting the number of cases involving "rogue tenants".
RVD provides enquiry and mediatory services on tenancy matters to tenants and landlords free of charge. For cases involving complex legal issues, RVD's staff will provide advice to the landlords or tenants concerned to facilitate them to decide on the need to seek professional legal advice.
Disputes between landlords and tenants often involve a lot of complicated factors. Whether the disputes can eventually be resolved is dependent on many factors.
(b) RVD does not have statistics on the number of complaints/requests for assistance on "forced eviction". In fact, "forced eviction" is difficult to define.
At present, under the Amendment Ordinance, landlords may lawfully repossess his/her property upon the expiry of the tenancy, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreement and the relevant legislation. That said, if there is evidence showing that the landlords are involved in any criminal act, such as criminal intimidation, criminal damage, serious or common assault etc., in the course of repossessing his/her property, the Police will investigate and take enforcement action against criminal offences in accordance with established procedures.
Those with genuine and pressing housing needs but are incapable of meeting such needs on their own may seek assistance from the Integrated Family Service Centres of the Social Welfare Department or of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The centres will provide assistance according to the needs of those people, taking into account their conditions, including provision of short-term financial assistance to meet rental and removal expenses, arrangement for admission to urban singleton hostels or temporary shelters operated by NGOs, or making recommendations to the Housing Department for admission to public rental housing (PRH) for cases eligible for "Compassionate Rehousing".
Low-income families and persons who cannot afford private rental accommodation may apply to the Hong Kong Housing Authority for public housing under the existing PRH Waiting List system.
(c) The Amendment Ordinance removed the rent control and the security of tenure and minimised the level of intervention in the private contracts between landlords and tenants. Landlords and tenants may draw up the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreements as mutually agreed, and execute the tenancy arrangements in accordance with the spirit of the contracts, with a view to protecting the interest of both the landlords and the tenants.
The Amendment Ordinance was passed after public consultation and in-depth examination of the details by the relevant Bills Committee of the Legislative Council. It has struck a balance between the interest of landlords and tenants at different social strata.
We understand that landlords and tenants may face various tenancy problems. In this regard, we will continue to listen to views of the community on how to further balance the interest between landlords and tenants.
Ends/Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:37
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