LCQ8: Effectiveness of Report Public Housing Abuse Award
Following is a question by the Hon Lee Chun-keung and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, in the Legislative Council today (May 20):
Question:
Last year, the Hong Kong Housing Authority launched the Report Public Housing Abuse Award (the Award), offering a maximum cash reward of $3,000 to informants with known identities who provide concrete information that leads to the successful issuance of a Notice-to-Quit (NTQ) by the Housing Department (HD) to households with tenancy abuse of Public Rental Housing (PRH) flats, with a view to stepping up efforts to combat tenancy abuses of PRH, such as illegal subletting, unauthorized occupation or non-residence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of award recipients and the amount of rewards paid under the Award respectively in the past year;
(2) of the number of flats reported under the Award in the past year, and whether the HD has issued NTQ to all the households with tenancy abuse of PRH;
(3) upon receipt of a report made under a real name, of the average time taken by the HD to investigate a case, and the average time taken by the Assessment Panel to examine a case in assessing whether the informant concerned is eligible for a reward; and
(4) what measures the authorities have put in place to step up publicity for the Award, including whether they will consider increasing the amount of reward to strengthen efforts to combat cases of abuse, so as to safeguard the rational use of public housing resources?
Reply:
President,
Public housing is a precious social resource which must be utilised effectively and allocated rationally to those in genuine need. The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) combats the abuse of public rental housing (PRH) on all fronts through prevention, detection, investigation, publicity and education, etc. In order to strengthen the collection of intelligence to combat PRH abuse more effectively, the HA launched the Report Public Housing Abuse Award (the Award) on January 15, 2025. Except for staff directly employed by the HA/Housing Department (HD), informants who report in real-name providing genuine and concrete information that leads to the HD's successful issuance of Notice-to-quit (NTQ) to households with tenancy abuse will be given a reward of up to $3,000 and a certificate of appreciation. Since the current-term Government assumed office, as at end March 2026, through strengthening enforcement and optimising reporting mechanisms, the HA has successfully recovered over 10 000 PRH flats in view of tenancy abuse and breach of tenancy agreement or housing policies. These efforts have been highly recognised by the community.
In response to the question raised by the Hon Lee Chun-keung, the reply is as follows:
(1) to (3) Since the launch of the Award, as at end March 2026, the HD has received a total of 5 400 non-anonymous reports under the Award. After initial screening, about 900 cases with basic information warranted further follow-up. Cases that could not be pursued were due to reasons such as a lack of essential information (such as the identity of the subject tenants or the housing estate/building where they reside); misunderstandings identified after preliminary verification (such as mistaking an approved addition of a household member for unathorised subletting), or routine complaints (such as noise or environmental hygiene issues) which fall outside the scope of tenancy abuse.
To prevent malicious abuse of the Award, all reported cases will undergo preliminarily assessment by dedicated personnel, which involves interviewing the informants and verifying their personal information. The above ensures the authenticity of the reported cases and facilitates the collection of supplementary information. Cases recommended for rewards will be further reviewed by an Assessment Panel chaired by a directorate officer of the HD. As at end March 2026, out of the about 900 cases that warranted follow-up, investigation on about 600 cases have been completed. Also, the Assessment Panel has completed two rounds of review and confirmed a total of 25 substantiated cases under the Award. The informant of each substantiated case received a reward of $3,000 and a certificate of appreciation. The HA also issued NTQs to all the PRH households involved in these 25 cases of PRH tenancy abuse. As the complexity of each case varies, the time required for investigation and review depends on the actual circumstances of the case. For instance, cases of non-occupation and non-continuous residence can normally be concluded after a three-month observation period. However, cases involving false declaration of income, assets or properties outside Hong Kong, typically require more time, as it is necessary to obtain evidence from other government departments, financial institutions, or even overseas authorities/institutions to complete the investigation. For the 25 substantiated cases, the investigation period ranged from three to eight months, during which informants were interviewed to confirm their identities and obtain detailed information.
(4) The HA will continue to enhance the publicity of the Award through various channels, including displaying posters in estates and uploading electronic posters, distributing mailers, and providing details of the Award on the HA/HD websites, so that more prospective participants of the Award can fully understand the relevant arrangements. Instead of a financial incentive, the cash reward under the Award is intended to acknowledge the civic duty demonstrated by successful informants in protecting precious public resources. The HA will continue to review the effectiveness of the Award for enhancement and adjust its strategy as appropriate, thereby ensuring the proper allocation of public housing resources.
