In April this year, the Housing Department began the second round of asset declaration for public housing tenants who have been living in the units for over 10 years, involving approximately 250,000 households. The deadline for declaration is this Friday (31st). Housing Department Director Luo Shupei revealed on a radio program on the 26th that as of May 17, they had received 68,000 declaration forms, accounting for only about 27% of the total. Once all declaration forms are collected, the Department will proceed with land registration follow-ups and verifications. She also disclosed that about 300 households have voluntarily informed the Department during the declaration process that they will return their public housing units.
Luo Shupei mentioned on a radio program that from September last year to present, the Department has received around 12,000 reports of alleged public housing abuse, leading to the successful repossession of 190 units after investigation. During the same period, out of around 66,000 applications from affluent households, 190 cases also required the repossession of units. Therefore, she believes that reporting abuses in public housing has been effective, more so than self-declaration.
She further revealed that from October last year to April this year, property management and security companies reported 28 and 8 cases respectively, which enabled the Department to successfully reclaim public housing units. These companies will receive bonus points in the next bidding process.
Regarding affluent household declarations, Luo Shupei mentioned that from October last year to early this year, out of the initial 88,000 households who declared, over 400 voluntarily surrendered their units. After the Department collected declaration forms, another 380 households self-declared or were investigated for holding local properties, requiring unit repossession.
Addressing the maintenance of fairness and impartiality in reporting, Luo Shupei responded that the reporting requirements are strict, requiring reporters to register with their real names and fill out a detailed form to provide relevant information. Additionally, the Department may arrange meetings with reporters to obtain more information.
As for the recent increase in the average waiting time for public housing to 5.7 years, Luo Shupei explained that the waiting time has fluctuated in the past few quarters, reaching a low of 5.3 years, mainly due to the completion of several large housing estates like Queen’s Hill in Sha Tin and Fotan. However, due to lower public housing supply in the 23/24 fiscal year, the waiting time has risen back to 5.7 years.
Luo Shupei expressed optimism about the public housing situation in the next two years, as several large housing estates in the New Territories will be completed, along with the gradual construction of simple public housing, which will improve the waiting time for public housing. She also stated that the government is confident in achieving the current administration’s goal of a 4.5-year waiting time target by the 26/27 fiscal year.