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The Housing Department (HD) spares no efforts in combating abuses of public housing resources. Three public rental housing (PRH) tenants have recently been convicted by the court for knowingly making false statements and were fined $4,500 to $12,000.
In the first case, a PRH tenant knowingly concealed partial ownership of two domestic properties when filling in the required asset declaration in 2012. The tenant was convicted after trial and fined $10,000 at the Tsuen Wan Magistrates' Court in August 2013.
In the second case, a tenant knowingly made a false statement by concealing the income generated from his property co-ownership when filling in the required income declaration. The defendant was convicted and fined $12,000 in July 2013 at the Eastern Magistrates' Court. Furthermore, the HD retrieved undercharged rent from the tenant amounting to $58,000 because of provision of inaccurate information.
In the third case, a tenant knowingly made a false statement by concealing his property ownership when filling in the required asset declaration in 2011. The defendant was convicted after trial and fined $4,500 in June 2013 at Kwun Tong Magistrates' Court.
A spokesman for the HD said today (September 18), "Tenants who have been living in public rental housing for 10 years or more are required to declare their household income at a biennial cycle. Those with a household income exceeding the corresponding Subsidy Income Limits are required to pay 1.5 times or double rent as appropriate. Tenants paying double rent have to declare assets at the next cycle of declaration. Those who opt not to declare, or with total household assets value exceeds the prescribed Net Assets Limits are required to vacate their public housing flats.
"Declarable incomes include those from employment, self-employment, business undertaking and revenue generated from assets. Interest from fixed deposits and investment, pensions and the like are also counted. Assets include land and landed property, vehicle, taxi and public light bus licences, business undertaking, investment, deposit and cash," he added.
The spokesman reiterated that public rental housing tenants must accurately declare their incomes and assets, both in Hong Kong and overseas. The HD has the mechanism to verify tenants' declarable incomes and assets with a view to access their rent level and eligibility of renting public rental housing flat. Any person who knowingly makes any false statement on income or assets shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a maximum fine of HK$50,000 and to imprisonment for six months. The HD will also retrieve from tenants the amount of rent undercharged because of provision of inaccurate information.
The HD's Central Team presently conducts rigorous checks on an annual average of some 5,000 suspicious cases selected randomly. In the past three years, about 240 cases were convicted for abusing PRH flats. The HD has redeployed 30 extra experienced estate staff to the Central Team for one year in 2013/14, to step up action to tackle tenancy abuses and to conduct additional checking of tenants' income/assets declarations.
Ends/Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Issued at HKT 14:00
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