Hong Kong authorities reclaimed about 15,500 public rental flats in the 2023-24 financial year, with close to a fifth resulting from mandatory declarations to tackle misuse of government resources, a senior housing official has revealed.
Law also said the government’s success in retrieving flats under the declaration mechanism, which was introduced last October, could be attributed to a consensus in society.
“People who do not live in public housing think from the perspective of societal resources. Public housing is a public resource … it should be allocated reasonably and fairly,” she told a radio programme.
The mechanism was introduced to prevent abuse after Kwong Kau, the former father-in-law of murdered model Abby Choi Tin-fung, was discovered last year to have owned a luxury home while also buying a subsidised flat.
Those who own a private flat, or surpass income or asset limits have to give up their public rental homes.
