The Housing (Amendment) Bill 2025, proposing amendments to the Housing Ordinance with a view to combating tenancy abuse and ensuring prudent use of public housing resources, was today published in the Government Gazette.
The bill seeks to introduce new offences in relation to serious tenancy abuse in public rental housing flats, and empowers authorised officers to demand personal details from suspects.
In order to enhance deterrence, the bill also propose the extension of time limitations for the prosecution of offences relating to false statements, refusal to furnish information, and unlawful alienations.
The bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for first and second readings on April 2. If passed, the amendments are expected to come into effect by the end of March next year.
The current-term Government has implemented a series of measures to fight against tenancy abuse. Since July 2022, the Housing Authority has recovered around 7,000 flats on the grounds of abuse or breaches of tenancy terms.
