Reporting Abuse of Public Housing Resources

Public housing resources are precious to the society. The Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) has committed to taking measures to prevent abuse of such resources.

If tenants who have proven to have abused public housing resources, their tenancies will be terminated. Any person who makes a false statement or withholds any information be deception shall be guilty of an offence. Such households are liable to prosecution.

Common Tenancy Abuse Cases

Non-occupation or not living permanently in the flat (not retaining regular and continuous residence for over three months)
Subletting (with or without rental income)
Engaging in illegal activities inside the premises (e.g. gambling, possession of drugs or illicit cigarettes)
Non-domestic usage (e.g. commercial activities, storage)
False declaration (e.g. property, income, assets, marital status, household particulars or occupancy status)

If the abuse is of a more serious nature, HKHS will terminate the concerned tenancy without prior warning.

The more serious breaches include cases of:

Non-occupation
Subletting (with or without rental income)
Engaging in illegal activities inside the premises (e.g. gambling, possession of drugs or illicit cigarettes)
False declaration (e.g. property, income, assets, marital status, household particulars or occupancy status)

Former HKHS tenants and all of their family members aged 18 or above at the time of tenancy termination due to making false declarations or breaching any terms of the tenancy agreement will not be allowed to re-apply for public rental housing for a period of five years starting from the day after tenancy termination. HKHS will report the above relevant tenant information to the Hong Kong Housing Authority in a joint effort to combat tenancy abuse.

Housing Resources Management and Operations

In addition to the routine tenancy control carried out by our estate offices, HKHS have also set up the Housing Resources Management and Operations (HRMO) to combat abuses of public housing resources. Apart from looking into suspected tenancy abuse cases, the HRMO also closely examines the declarations of properties, incomes and assets made by tenants and applicants of various subsidised housing schemes to prevent public housing abuse.