Public housing tenants jailed over undeclared homes
HK01 · 7 SOURCESabout 23 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Two public housing cases involving false asset declarations have resulted in custodial sentences and a pending court hearing in Hong Kong. The Housing Department said the households involved lived in Choi Hung Estate and Kwong Tin Estate, and both failed to declare Hong Kong residential properties when completing 2025 income and asset declaration forms. In the Sai Kung case, one resident who owned two homes was jailed for two weeks with immediate effect, while another resident in the same case will return to Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts on November 30. In a separate Tseung Kwan O case, another public housing resident was jailed for four weeks and granted bail pending appeal.
Key Points
- The Housing Department said the two public housing households involved lived in Choi Hung Estate and Kwong Tin Estate and filed 2025 declarations stating no Hong Kong property ownership.
- After investigation, the department found that two residents in the first case each owned Sai Kung residential property, with one holding two homes and the other one home.
- Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts sentenced the resident who owned two Sai Kung residential properties to two weeks' imprisonment on October 5, with the term to begin immediately.
- The other resident in the same Sai Kung case had the hearing adjourned to November 30, and the Housing Department said it would recover the public housing flat involved.
- In the second case, a Kwong Tin Estate resident was found to own a Tseung Kwan O residential property and was sentenced to four weeks' imprisonment, with bail pending appeal.
Why It Matters
The cases show that false declarations in public housing reviews can lead to both tenancy recovery and jail under the Housing Ordinance. For public housing tenants and subsidised housing applicants, the Housing Department's message is that income, assets and property ownership must be declared accurately and calculated according to the official instructions.