Housing Society asset check sees 13 giving up public rental flats

The Housing Society said 13 public rental housing tenants are willing to give up their flats after they were required to declare their assets. The asset check also found tenants owning property worth tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars.

The society's director in property management Sanford Poon Yuen-fong told an interview that around 99 percent of 1,900 tenants surveyed had submitted declaration forms.

Poon said the exercise saw 13 tenants surrendering their public units voluntarily, including four who declared owning other properties in the city.

He revealed that one case saw the tenant owning over 30 lots of land, some of which are located in the New Territories. He said the Housing Society will need to investigate and calculate the relevant land values to determine if they exceed the tenant’s asset limit.

Meanwhile, Poon said over 20 cross-boundary vehicles were found parked at the monthly parking spaces of the society’s housing estates, which officials will look into whether they belong to public housing tenants.

The Housing Society noted that they are also investigating complaints from neighbors about suspicious behaviors. For instance, reports of residents frequently consuming expensive wine have triggered further scrutiny.

The Society plans to establish an independent team to regularly check for violations of public housing rental agreements online.