Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, in the Legislative Council today (January 28):
 
Question:

     It is learnt that although the Housing Department (HD) has implemented a series of measures to handle cases where residents of public rental housing (PRH) estates cause nuisance to neighbours, the number of related complaints has not decreased significantly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the names of the 10 PRH estates with the highest number of complaints received by the HD over the past year involving nuisance caused to neighbours, and the number of complaints received for each of these estates;
 
(2) of the number of complaints received by the HD in the past three years involving nuisance caused to neighbours by PRH residents, with a breakdown by nature of complaints (e.g. noise nuisance, hygienic nuisance created by accumulating a large quantity of refuse or waste inside the premises, and water dripping from air conditioners);
 
(3) of the average time taken by the HD to handle complaints mentioned in (2) and the number of residents with their tenancies terminated due to nuisance caused to neighbours in such cases; and
 
(4) given that residents who have purchased flats in Tenants Purchase Scheme estates are no longer PRH tenants and are therefore not subject to the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement, how the HD will co-ordinate with owners' corporations and property management companies to handle nuisance complaints involving residents of such flats?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) is committed to fostering a harmonious and hygienic living environment for public rental housing (PRH) residents. To effectively address tenants' certain inappropriate behaviour and promote care for their surroundings, we have implemented the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement (the Scheme) which is applicable to both PRH and interim housing tenants. The Scheme covers 30 categories of misdeeds, each of which carries 3, 5, 7 or 15 penalty points depending on the severity of the misdeeds. Details of the misdeeds are set out in Annex 1. The purpose of the Scheme is to raise tenants' awareness for making improvements, rather than forcing them out of PRHs. Therefore, taking into account "law, reason and compassion" and with a view to offering tenants an opportunity to rectify undesirable habits, the Scheme incorporates a warning mechanism. We will first issue a written warning to tenants who commit certain relevant misdeeds. Should a tenant repeat the same misdeed again within two years of receiving the written warning, penalty points will be allotted. When a PRH household accrues 16 points within two years, its tenancy will be terminated. During the five years following the tenancy termination, the former tenant and their adult household members will be barred from applying for PRH. After the period, even if they successfully apply for PRH, they will not be allocated a better unit in terms of location, age or floor levels compared to their previous PRH unit.
 
     Upon receipt of complaints from PRH tenants regarding nuisance caused by neighbours, the Housing Department (HD) will immediately arrange staff to conduct an investigation and gather evidence through on-site inspections, interviews with relevant parties and/or taking photographs. Where the nuisance is confirmed as a misdeed under the Scheme, subject to the nature of the misdeed, the tenant will get warnings or have penalty points allotted by the HD under the Scheme. On serious misdeeds, the tenancy agreement will be terminated and the unit will be repossessed.
 
     In response to the question raised by the Hon Kenneth Lau, our reply is as follows:
 
(1) Among the 197 PRH estates under the HKHA, the 10 PRH estates which received the highest number of nuisance enquiries and complaints in 2025 as well as the respective case numbers, are listed in Annex 2.
 
(2) and (3) Over the past three years (2023 to 2025), the HD received around 19 000 complaints concerning PRH tenants causing nuisance to neighbours. On average, there were around 6 300 cases per year, accounting for only 0.3 per cent of the total PRH population of approximately 2.1 million. Upon receipt of enquiries and complaints to the completion of handling, over one-third of the cases were resolved within 10 days, with the average processing time amounting to around 13 days. During the same period, 11 tenancy agreements were terminated due to breaches of nuisance-related misdeeds and tenancy agreement. The breakdown of cases by category of misdeeds is provided in Annex 3.
       
(4) As for estates where units are available for purchase including estates under the Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS), the management of these estates is no different from that of general private properties as governed by the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) and the government leases as well as the Deed of Mutual Covenant. If property owners cause nuisance within their flats or in common areas, such as noise nuisance, accumulation of refuse within units, or water dripping from air conditioners, the owners' corporation and its property management company may take follow-up actions by exercising its power conferred by relevant regulations/clauses. Where necessary, cases may be referred to other government departments (such as the Police and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department) for enforcement. Should the HKHA or the HD receives public complaints regarding nuisances in common areas, the cases will be relayed to the owners' corporation and its property management company for follow-up.
 
     To enhance the living environment in estates for sale, the HKHA's Subsidised Housing Committee approved extending all misdeeds covered under the Scheme to tenants of estates under the TPS and the Buy-or-Rent Option. This measure came into effect on December 1, 2024. Should PRH tenants commit misdeeds covered by the Scheme in the common areas of the said estates, the owners' corporation and its property management company may forward the relevant information and evidence to the HD for follow-up. Upon investigation and verification, the HD will take action according to the Scheme against the tenant, who will receive warnings or have penalty points allotted. In the event of serious cases, tenancy may be terminated with the unit repossessed. 
 
     As the owner of unsold flats in TPS estates, the HKHA will appoint representatives to serve as the management committee members of the owners' corporations. HKHA's representatives will provide professional advice on property management and share experience in the management of environmental hygiene and public safety. On environmental hygiene and management of public areas in the said estates, the HD will also disseminate relevant information from other government departments, such as the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Fire Services Department, to the owners' corporations and property management companies. Where necessary, joint operations will be conducted with the owners' corporations and property management companies to take enforcement actions against tenants' misdeeds, thereby safeguarding the overall environment of the estates in joint hands.

Ends/Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Issued at HKT 15:03

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