Value check on cars to kick out wealthy public housing tenants

Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said authorities will step up scrutiny on public housing tenants’ assets, including the value of their cars and whether they hold any properties in the mainland and overseas, to combat wealthy occupants of public rental homes.

Ho told a newspaper interview that staffers of the Housing Authority would take note of vehicles owned by the tenants and gather information about their rides, including their value, after checking with the Transport Department.

The vehicles' value will be considered when calculating a tenant’s assets, and the same applies to overseas properties owned by them, said Ho.

She said there were cases in the past year where public housing tenants who held assets in mainland China had their public rental homes reclaimed when their total assets exceeded the limit.

Meanwhile, the housing chief said a task force set up to combat tenancy abuse has been hiring retired disciplinary force members to assist in formulating strategies to combat the misuse of public housing.

They will strengthen online surveillance to identify cases of unauthorized subletting or the use of public housing for guesthouses, among other activities.

Commenting on the average waiting time for public housing, Ho said there has been a slight increase in the fourth quarter of the previous year and the first quarter of this year, followed by a stable period.

With the introduction of light public housing in the first quarter of 2025, the SAR government is confident that the goal of reducing the waiting time to 4.5 years by 2026/27 is achievable, she added.