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The Appeal Panel (Housing) is an independent statutory body to hear appeals from public rental housing tenants against the Housing Authority's (HA) decision to terminate their tenancies.
"Although the Housing Department provides secretariat support to the Panel, members of the panel consider the cases and reach its judgements independently," a spokesman for the department said.
The spokesman made the statement in response to a report in a Chinese newspaper today (9th June) calling for more effective communications between the department and the Panel as 74 per cent of the rent arrears Notice-To-Quit (NTQ) cases on rent defaulting heard by the Panel in 2005 were either cancelled or amended.
The paper noted that this had, in one way or another, encouraged tenants to lodge appeals and hang on to the tenancies continuously.
The number of appeal cases lodged with the Appeal Panel rises from 2,574 in 2004, to 3,050 in 2005 and to 1,600 for the first quarter of this year. The average waiting time for hearing increased from 188 days in 2004 to 249 days in 2005.
It has been the established policy of the HA to terminate the tenancies held by tenants who have incurred two months rent arrears or habitual rent defaulters who paid their rents in arrears consecutively for three months.
Under the Housing Ordinance, tenants served with NTQs may appeal to the Appeal Panel against the termination of their tenancies within 15 days from the service of the NTQs.
To deal with the rising number of appeal cases, the Appeal Panel Secretariat has been taking active steps to streamline the appeal hearing process.
The number of Panel members has increased from 33 in 2004 to 42 in 2005. Another 12 new members will be appointed in July this year.
Meanwhile, the department has also put in place a number of measures aimed at reducing domestic rent arrears.
As rent arrears for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) households account for about one third of all rent arrears cases, direct rent payment from the Social Welfare Department to the HA will be implemented for all tenants receiving full rent allowance under CSSA at the end of this year.
"Tenants whose tenancies are terminated on grounds of rent arrears will be blacklisted and will be asked to settle the rent arrears incurred in the past should they return to public rental housing through the General Waiting List," the spokesman said.
"Tenants whose tenancies are terminated on grounds of rent arrears and who cannot fend for their accommodation will be rehoused to transit centres for verification of housing need. After confirmation of their housing need, they will be offered an Interim Housing unit in the New Territories," he added.
Ends/Friday, June 9, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:24
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