【明報專訊】WITH the purpose of strengthening the combat of public rental housing abuse, a tip-off campaign under the Cherish Public Housing Resources Award Scheme takes effect today (15 January). The Housing Authority is also considering a law amendment to criminalise acts like subletting public housing units for financial gain.

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The existence of public housing is to satisfy the residential needs of the underprivileged, subsidised with a colossal amount of public money. The authorities own the responsibility to combat its abuse to ensure fair allocation of public resources.

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Common forms of public housing tenancy abuse include not occupying the flats or not residing in them prolongedly, making false declarations on incomes, assets and family status, subletting or underletting flats, and using flats for non-domestic purposes. The government has rolled out many measures in the past two years to crack down on public housing abuse. They include tightening the Well-off Tenants Policies and demanding that tenants declare every two years their occupancy status, domestic property ownership in Hong Kong and so forth.

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Over the past two and a half years, the government has recovered about 7000 public housing units, equivalent to 10 blocks of public housing. However, the authorities believe there are still hidden cases of tenancy abuse that are difficult to detect. Under the Report Public Housing Abuse Award scheme newly set up by the Housing Authority, non-anonymous informants who provide genuine and concrete intelligence will be presented with a certificate of appreciation and offered a maximum cash reward of $3,000.

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Furthermore, the Housing Authority is also considering amending the Housing Ordinance to criminalise serious acts of public housing tenancy abuse like subletting flats. The existing law stipulates that if a public housing tenant is found to have concealed or made a false declaration of data, the Housing Department can invoke the Housing Ordinance to institute prosecution. However, the Housing Authority does not have the power to prosecute cases of serious public housing abuse like subletting flats. Terminating tenancies is what it can do at most, which is obviously unreasonable.

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Now the authorities propose amending the ordinance to establish criminal culpability for serious public housing abuse. The subleasing of a public housing unit and the commercial use of a unit not resided by its tenant will be listed as criminal offences, with a maximum penalty of $500,000 in fines and one-year imprisonment. It is believed that the amendment will have a deterrent effect but will not affect public housing tenants who engage in activities like tutoring inside their units for extra income.

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When Housing Department officers are dispatched to a location to investigate a suspected case of subletting, the most common hurdle they meet is non-cooperation of the people inside the unit. Citing privacy as the reason, they would refuse to provide personal data like their identity cards, making it impossible for the officers to verify whether they are the original tenants or not. The law amendment will empower officers to inspect personal data. This will likely help the investigation work greatly.

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Regarding the ''cash-for-tipping-off'' system, some worry that it may encourage a ''back-stabbing culture'' and may be a detriment to neighbourhood relations. Some are apprehensive that the reporting system may be abused and that tenants may be framed by fellow residents as a result of personal grudges.

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However, the reporting of tenancy abuse by fellow residents is a long-standing practice rather than something new. Under the incentive system, not only are informants required to provide real names, but they will also be interviewed by dedicated Housing Department officers to ensure the authenticity of the information provided. Of course, whether the reporting system will be abused, in the end, will depend on the gatekeeping of officers.

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明報社評 2025.01.15：刑事化打擊公屋租上租 留意舉報濫用機制利弊

政府加強打擊濫用公屋，「善用公屋資源獎勵」舉報計劃今起實施，房委會亦有意修例，將分租公屋單位牟利等行為刑事化。

公屋的存在，乃是為了滿足基層市民住屋需要，背後涉及巨額公帑補貼，當局有責任打擊濫用，確保公共資源分配公平公道。

常見的濫用公屋行為，包括丟空單位或長期無人居住、虛報入息資產及家庭狀况等資料、分租或轉租單位，以及將單位作非住宅用途等。過去兩年，政府為了加強打擊濫用公屋，推出不少措施，包括收緊富戶政策、要求住戶每兩年申報一次居住情况及是否擁有香港住宅物業等。

政府過去兩年半合計收回約7000個公屋單位，相當於10座公屋，然而當局相信，尚有一些較難發現的隱蔽濫用個案。房委會新設「舉報濫用公屋獎」，為提供確切情報的實名舉報者，授以感謝狀及最高3000元現金獎。

另外，房委會也考慮修訂《房屋條例》，將分租單位等嚴重濫用公屋行為刑事化。根據現行法例，公屋租戶若被發現隱瞞或虛報資料，房屋署可根據《房屋條例》提出檢控，然而對於分租單位等嚴重濫用公屋情况，房委會卻無權提出檢控，最多只能終止租約。這明顯不合理。

現在當局建議修例引入嚴重濫用公屋罪，針對單位「租上租」，以及在租戶未有居住的情况下將單位作商業用途，列為刑事罪行，最高可罰50萬元及監禁1年，相信可起到阻嚇作用，同時又不會影響公屋租戶在單位從事補習等活動幫補生計。

房署派員登門調查懷疑分租單位一類個案，最常遇到的困難就是單位內的人不合作，以私隱為名，拒絕提供身分證等個人資料，房署人員無從核實當事人是否原租戶。修例賦權房署人員可檢查個人資料，對於調查工作應有相當大的幫助。

關於「舉報有獎」機制，有人擔心會鼓勵「舉報文化」，鄰里關係會否受破壞，亦有人憂慮舉報機制遭濫用，不排除有住戶出於私怨，誣告另一住戶。

不過，居民舉報濫用公屋的做法，以往一直存在，本身並非新鮮事。獎勵機制下，舉報者不僅要實名，並須由房署專責人員面見，以確保資料真確。當然，舉報機制會否被濫用，最後還得看房署人員有沒有好好把關。

■/ Glossary 生字 /

tip-off：secret information that sb gives, for example to the police, to warn them about an illegal activity that is going to happen or has happened

institute (sth)：to introduce a system, policy, etc. or start a process

culpability：​the fact of being responsible and deserving blame for having done sth wrong

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Audio files provided by John W