​Following is a question by the Hon Wilson Or and an oral reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Caspar Tsui, in the Legislative Council today (August 25):
     
Question:

     As Hong Kong is densely populated, disputes often arise between neighbours over problems such as noise, light pollution, hygiene, odour of cigarette smoke and water-dripping of air-conditioners, some of which even escalated into violent confrontations. On the other hand, the Home Affairs Department, in collaboration with two professional mediation institutions, provides free professional mediation services on building management, but the scope of such services does not cover neighbourhood disputes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of complaints relating to neighbourhood disputes received by the Government in the past five years, with a breakdown by government department and nature of complaints;

(2) of the institutions or mechanisms currently in place to help members of the public resolve neighbourhood disputes by way of mediation; and

(3) whether it will, by following the practice of the Singapore Government, establish a community mediation centre and tribunal for neighbourhood disputes, and require that such disputes must be dealt with in the manner of "mediation first, arbitration next"?
 
Reply:

President,

     Hong Kong is a city with a dense living environment.  Various types of disputes may arise in the daily lives of residents. Depending on the nature of the disputes, the government departments concerned will handle the cases in accordance with the relevant legislation and guidelines. Having consulted the relevant bureaux and departments, including the Environment Bureau and the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), the Department of Justice, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and the Department of Health, and coordinated their input, my consolidated reply to the three parts of the question raised by the Hon Wilson Or is as follows:

(1) Regarding the common neighbourhood disputes mentioned in the question, including noise, light nuisance, hygiene, dust, fumes or effluvia, water dripping and water seepage, the number of complaints received by the relevant government departments in the past five years is set out at Annex. Among the different types of disputes, water dripping and water seepage received the largest number of complaints, with an average of about 26 000 and 36 000 complaints received per year respectively in the past four and a half years.

(2) As mentioned in the preamble, due to the variety of neighbourhood disputes, the government departments responsible for handling the cases hinge on the nature of the disputes. Depending on the nature and complexity of the cases, the departments concerned will need to deploy their professional knowledge and skills to handle the disputes (e.g. water seepage), including entering the premises concerned to conduct professional investigation and tests so as to identify the sources of nuisances and to delineate the responsibilities of the parties concerned. Therefore, the relevant government departments may adopt different approaches in handling different disputes in light of the actual circumstances and the provisions of the relevant legislation and guidelines.

(3) For example, according to information provided by the EPD, a resident who feels annoyed by neighbourhood noise may seek assistance from their property management office. The management office will normally liaise directly with the relevant parties, which should resolve the issue swiftly in most cases. If the problem persists or difficulties arise, further assistance from the Police may be sought. With the presence of the Police, the noise issue will usually be settled or abated.  Having regard to the nature of neighbourhood noise problems, the EPD has recently prepared a set of guidelines, and will organise more talks and webinars in the second half of this year for property management companies, relevant residents' associations and owners' committees. The EPD will also produce posters and promotion video on the subject. These initiatives seek to enhance public awareness of neighbourhood noise and to provide practical ways to the public to avoid making noise nuisance, thereby building a better and harmonious community.

     As for light nuisance, upon receipt of complaints, the EPD will relay the complainants' concerns and requests to the persons responsible for the lighting installations in question; and if applicable, advise them to refer to the "Guidelines on Industry Best Practices for External Lighting Installations" and take appropriate measures to minimise the impact of the lighting installations on the residents in the vicinity.

     As regards water seepage, upon receipt of complaints from the public on water seepage in a building, the Joint Office (JO) set up by the Buildings Department and the FEHD will seek to identify the existence of sanitary nuisance by means of systematic investigation. Once the existence of sanitary nuisance is confirmed, staff of FEHD will, in accordance with the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), issue a nuisance notice requiring the relevant person to abate the sanitary nuisance within the period specified in the notice.  Apart from seeking assistance from JO for identifying the source of seepage, owners or occupants may co-operate among themselves to engage professionals/consultants to carry out investigation and identify the source of seepage, and to conduct the necessary repair works to resolve the water seepage problems. As for other hygiene nuisances, upon receipt of complaints from the public, FEHD staff will carry out investigation and take enforcement action as necessary.

(4) As mentioned earlier, the handling of different disputes often requires the relevant departments to first identify the sources of nuisances and delineate the responsibilities of the parties concerned with professional knowledge and skills. The disputes may only be further settled by mediation where appropriate and with the consent of all the disputing parties concerned. In this regard, the Department of Justice supports and has launched initiatives to promote the idea of first considering mediation in resolving disputes in different sectors.  Individual bureaux and departments can also consider whether and how mediation services (including the establishment of community mediation centres and tribunals) or other dispute resolution means can be used to resolve disputes in the policy areas and sectors concerned, having regard to their policy considerations and other relevant factors.

Ends/Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Issued at HKT 16:30

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