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Following is question by the Hon Ho Chun-yan and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Mr Dominic Wong, in the Legislative Council today (March 6):

Question:

Regarding the cases in which Notices-To-Quit were issued by the Housing Department ("HD") to recover the flats of public rental housing ("PRH") from residents who were in breach of tenancy agreements, will the Government inform this Council of the following regarding each of the past three years:

(a) the number of Notices-To-Quit issued by HD and the reasons given therein; among these cases, the numbers of those in which tenancies were re-granted and those in which the flats were eventually recovered;

(b) the respective numbers of overruled and sustained cases, and a breakdown of these cases according to the respective reasons given by the relevant authority; and

(c) the number of PRH households whose late appeals were not entertained and had to move out of their flats; and whether consideration will be given to amending the relevant provisions in the Housing Ordinance (Cap. 283) to extend the time limit for lodging appeals and to handle late appeals on a discretionary basis; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply

Madam President,

A total of 7,470 notices-to-quit were issued to public rental housing tenants in the past three years (1999-2001), as follows:

1999 - 2,536

2000 - 2,350

2001 - 2,584

A breakdown of cases by reason is not available. Common reasons were breach of terms of tenancies, such as not paying rent, use of premises for illegal purposes (e.g. storage of dangerous drugs, gambling, prostitution), unauthorised occupation and non-occupation. Notices-to-quit were also issued to tenants affected by the Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme after they were offered rehousing to other estates, tenants whose income and assets exceeded stipulated limits, and tenants who were not eligible to stay in public housing flats after divorce.

In the past three years, 3,982 tenancies were reinstated, and 2,946 notices-to-quit were enforced, as shown in the Annex A.

Tenants who have been issued notices-to-quit may appeal to the Appeal Panel on Housing established under section 7A of the Housing Ordinance (Cap. 283). The Appeal Panel heard 1,461 cases in the past three years, as shown in the Annex B.

Appeals are considered on the individual merits of each case, and a breakdown of appeals by reason in the past three years is not available. Common reasons leading to the cancellation or amendment of notices-to-quit by the Appeal Panel include breach of terms of tenancies for the first time and the breach in question was not serious, clearance of all outstanding rent arrears with tenants' undertaking to pay rents on time in future, and hardship which merited compassionate consideration.

The Housing Ordinance provides for tenants to lodge appeals with the Appeal Panel within 15 days of the issue of notices-to-quit. In the past three years, 133 appeals were received outside the statutory period with the result that the Appeal Panel could not hear them.

As notices-to-quit are delivered by hand, by registered mail, by notices affixed to doors of concerned flats, or by a combination of the above methods, the Government considers the current time limit appropriate.

End/Wednesday, March 6, 2002

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