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Following is a question by the Hon Albert Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (June 16):
Question
I have recently received a number of complaints that some public rental housing ("PRH") units are not installed with drain pipes for air-conditioners, causing water to drip from air-conditioners. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the names of the PRH estates not installed with drain pipes for air-conditioners and the numbers of buildings and residential units in each estate;
(b) whether it has concrete measures to help the residents tackle the problem; if it has, of the details of such measures; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) of the number of complaints received in each of the past three years, and whether it has assessed the impact of the dripping on the environmental hygiene of the housing estates?
Reply
Madam President,
My reply to the three-part question is as follows:
(a) All public housing blocks completed after 1996 are provided with condensate drain pipes. Public housing estates without drain pipes are mainly those completed before 1996. Their names, with numbers of blocks and flats, are set out at Annex.
(b) Public housing tenants are required to seek prior approval from the Housing Department for installing air-conditioners to ensure adequate electricity loading to meet the demand. When granting the approval, the Housing Department will issue detailed guidelines to the tenants, reminding them to install flexible lead hoses to re-direct condensate to their flats or use condensate-free air-conditioners to prevent dripping.
To address the problem of dripping caused by improper installation and maintenance of air-conditioners, the Housing Department will first issue warning letters asking the tenants to make necessary improvements. If the problem persists, the Housing Department will refer the cases to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department for follow-up actions under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance.
(c) In the past three years, the Housing Department received 14 375 complaints about dripping from air-conditioners in public housing estates. Water dripping from air-conditioners causes nuisance to tenants on the floors below and passers-by. Therefore, through education and publicity efforts such as distributing leaflets and putting up posters, the Housing Department from time to time reminds tenants of the importance of proper installation and maintenance of their air-conditioners to prevent dripping.
Annex
Public Housing Estates Without Condensate Drain Pipes
Region Name of Public
Housing Estate* No. of blocks No. of units
Kowloon East Choi Fai Estate 2 1 351
Choi Hung Estate 11 7 448
Choi Wan (I) Estate 16 5 923
Choi Wan (II) Estate 5 2 696
Chuk Yuen (S) Estate 8 6 570
Fu Shan Estate 3 1 585
Kai Yip Estate 6 4 300
Kwong Tin Estate 4 2 453
Lok Fu Estate 11 3 690
Lok Wah (N) Estate 8 2 972
Lok Wah (S) Estate 6 7 001
Lower Ngau Tau Kok
(II) Estate 7 5 406
Lower Wong Tai Sin
(II) Estate 15 6 779
Mei Tung Estate 2 665
Ping Shek Estate 7 4 575
Sau Mau Ping Estate 1 133
Sau Mau Ping
(I) Estate 3 1 554
Shun Lee Estate 7 4 461
Shun On Estate 3 3 002
Shun Tin Estate 7 7 063
Tsui Ping (N) Estate 12 4 005
Tsui Ping (S) Estate 4 2 630
Tsz Lok Estate 3 1 500
Tsz Man Estate 3 2 043
Tung Tau (I) Estate 1 906
Wang Tau Hom estate 18 5 900
Wo Lok Estate 11 1 941
Kowloon West Ap Lei Chau Estate 6 4 453
and Hong Kong Chak On Estate 4 1 906
Fu Cheong Estate 1 131
Hing Man Estate 3 1 998
Hing Tung Estate 3 2 043
Hing Wah (II) Estate 7 3 592
Homantin Estate 3 555
Lai Kok Estate 8 3 066
Lai On Estate 5 1 438
Lee On estate 8 7 523
Ma Hang Estate 5 916
Ma Tau Wai Estate 5 2 075
Model Housing Estate 6 667
Nam Cheong Estate 7 1 898
Nam Shan Estate 8 2 850
Oi Man Estate 12 6 289
Pak Tin Estate 12 4 696
Sai Wan Estate 5 638
Shek Kip Mei Estate 28 5 824
Sheung Lok Estate 1 358
Siu Sai Wan Estate 12 6 162
So Uk Estate 16 5 314
Tai Hang Tung Estate 1 624
Wah Fu (I) Estate 12 4 805
Wah Fu (II) Estate 6 4 345
Wan Tsui Estate 10 3 200
Wong Chuk Hang Estate 9 5 180
Yiu Tung Estate 11 5 302
Yue Wan Estate 4 2 180
Kwai Tsing, Cheung Ching Estate 8 4 907
Tsuen Wan Cheung Fat Estate 4 2 623
and Islands Cheung Hang Estate 6 4 799
Cheung Hong Estate 13 8 539
Cheung Shan Estate 3 1 621
Fuk Loi Estate 9 3 129
Kwai Fong Estate 6 2 790
Kwai Shing East Estate 8 4 818
Kwai Shing West Estate 10 5 262
Lai King Estate 7 4 215
Lai Yiu Estate 4 2 402
Lei Muk Shue
(II) Estate 9 3 416
Lung Tin Estate 9 550
Ngan Wan Estate 4 459
On Yam Estate 8 5 492
Shek Lei (I) Estate 6 4 156
Shek Lei (II) Estate 4 3 249
Shek Wai Kok Estate 8 6 592
Tai Wo Hau Estate 17 7 860
Tai Po, North, Chun Shek Estate 4 2 177
Shatin and Cheung Wah Estate 10 5 120
Sai Kung Choi Yuen Estate 10 5 076
Fu Shin Estate 6 5 518
Hau Tak (I) Estate 6 4 271
Ka Fuk Estate 3 2 045
Lee On Estate 5 3 632
Lek Yuen Estate 7 3 212
Lung Hang Estate 6 4 381
Mei Lam Estate 4 4 161
Po Lam Estate 6 5 037
Sha Kok Estate 7 6 424
Sun Chui Estate 8 6 692
Sun Tin Wai Estate 8 3 432
Tai Yuen Estate 7 4 878
Tsui Lam Estate 8 4 932
Wah Sum Estate 2 1 481
Wo Che Estate 12 6 297
Tuen Mun and Butterfly Estate 6 5 405
Yuen Long Long Ping Estate 15 8 483
On Ting Estate 6 5 049
Sam Shing Estate 3 1 834
Shan King Estate 9 8 643
Shui Pin Wai Estate 7 2 394
Tai Hing Estate 7 8 915
Tin Shui (I) Estate 7 4 615
Tin Shui (II) Estate 5 3 170
Tin Yiu (I) Estate 6 4 655
Tin Yiu (II) Estate 6 3 823
Wu King Estate 6 4 386
Yau Oi Estate 11 9 153
Total 758 414 750
* Not including estates of Tenants Purchase Scheme / Buy-or-Rent Option Scheme.
Ends/Wednesday, June 16, 2004
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