Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is a question by the Hon Kingsley Wong and a written reply by Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, in the Legislative Council today (July 9):
Question:
It has been learnt that a number of cases involving deaths of public rental housing (PRH) tenants in their own PRH flats occurred in Hong Kong in the past, in which the deaths of such tenants remained unknown for a long time, and there were even cases where their bodies had been reduced to skeletons by the time they were discovered; and there were also cases in which carers died suddenly in their PRH flats, but the relatives living with them were forced to “stay with the dead bodies” as their relatives were unable to seek assistance and report to the Police due to mental incapacity or other reasons. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of cases in each of the past 10 years, in which staff of the Housing Department (HD) found people dead in the flats concerned during home visits or flat recovery work (e.g. breaking into the flats concerned);
(2) of the number of cases in each of the past 10 years, in which the Social Welfare Department (SWD) found people dead in the flats concerned in the course of following up the welfare service matters of PRH tenants;
(3) it is learnt that, following the default on rental payment for two consecutive months by PRH tenants, HD will make several attempts to contact the tenants concerned by means of telephone, written notification or home visits, etc., of the criteria adopted by HD for determining whether it is necessary to refer the cases to other departments for follow-up or to report to the Police after repeated unsuccessful attempts to contact the tenants;
(4) regarding cases in which HD is unable to contact the tenants successfully, whether HD will consider seeking assistance from the Police within a shorter period of time, so as to decide if further actions will be taken in respect of the tenants concerned (e.g. breaking into the flats); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5) as there are views that enhanced cooperation among different departments will facilitate early detection of death cases in PRH flats and even save lives, whether HD, SWD, the Home Affairs Department and the Police will consider setting up a mechanism for information sharing and cooperation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(6) whether it will promote and encourage the District Services and Community Care Teams (Care Teams), management companies and PRH tenants to set up a system for assuring safety, so that PRH tenants who live alone or need relevant support may participate on a voluntary basis;
(7) given that HD has launched the pilot scheme of Door Sensor Installation for Elderly Households to equip the elderly households who have voluntarily participated in the scheme with the system which allows designated relatives or friends to keep track of the movement of the elderly in and out of their flats, whether the authorities will extend the scheme to cover non-elderly PRH tenants in the future; whether they will promote and encourage the Care Teams and management companies to become one of the designated contact persons, so as to expeditiously follow up the situation of the tenants concerned; and
(8) given that the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions and the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited have joined forces to launch the Gas Guardian Care Network programme, which utilises smart meters to monitor the gas usage patterns of the elderly in real-time, whether the authorities will make reference to the programme and launch other projects in collaboration with the business sector and community organisations to enable carers to check the condition of the elderly, so as to enhance home safety of the elderly?
Reply:
President,
The estate management staff of the Housing Department (HD) will contact public rental housing (PRH) tenants through daily management work, proactively understanding their living conditions in PRH units and will pay special attention to elderly residents living alone. Cases will be referred to other government departments and social welfare organisations as needed to provide assistance.
In response to the question raised by the Hon Kingsley Wong, in consultation with the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB) and the Home Affairs Department, our reply is as follows:
(1), (2) and (5) In the past 10 years (i.e. 2015 to 2024), the number of natural deaths recorded in PRH units under the HD is listed in the Annex. These cases are mainly discovered through the HD’s routine management work (such as patrols, home visits, flat recovery operations, etc.), or were reported by the tenants’ relatives, friends, or neighbours to the estate offices, or referred by other government departments including the police and the Social Welfare Department (SWD) or social welfare organisations. The HD does not maintain statistical breakdowns of the means by which these cases are discovered.
At present, the HD and the SWD have established an inter-departmental referral mechanism to handle special cases of housing assistance for PRH tenants. Liaison groups have been formed at both the headquarters and regional levels to regularly review and improve the cooperation mechanism for housing assistance cases. The HD is also closely collaborating with the LWB and is providing information of PRH tenants under the premise of protecting personal data privacy, with a view to facilitating the LWB to develop a database for following up on hidden and needy elderly individuals.
(3) and (4) According to Section 19(1)(b) of the Housing Ordinance (Cap. 283), when the Housing Authority (HA) serves a notice-to-quit to tenant, at least one month’s notice for termination of tenancy should be given. Upon expiry of the notice, if the occupier still does not voluntarily surrender the unit, the HD can then deploy staff to proceed flat recovery action in accordance with the Housing Ordinance. For rent arrears cases, a series of actions will be taken initially by the HD before serving notice-to-quit, including communicating with tenants through home visits, phone calls or face-to-face interviews. If the tenants still cannot be reached, HD staff will try to reach their relatives and emergency contacts. For some singleton elderly tenants who live by themselves and have not provided any relatives or other contact persons, we will make every effort to contact them through alternative means, including slipping notes through the door gap and into the letter box to ask the tenants to contact the estate office as soon as possible, instructing security guards to monitor the tenants’ entry into and exit from the building, and recording their water and electricity consumption to more closely monitor their situation. If the tenants are in rent arrears due to financial difficulties, cases may be referred to the SWD for follow-up or be provided with assistance to apply for Rent Assistance Scheme, subject to their consent and fulfilment of eligibilities. If the tenants or any of their relatives still cannot be reached despite multiple attempts, the HD will inquire with other departments such as the SWD to check if the tenants are their care cases and their latest situation; or the Immigration Department to check the tenants’ immigration records, etc.; and will seek assistance from the police if necessary. In addition, if HD staff discover suspicious cases during daily management work (e.g. unusual odours emanating from the unit), they will notify the police immediately to take appropriate action, including breaking into the unit as necessary.
(6), (7) and (8) In order to encourage property management companies and security service contractors to be more proactive in assisting PRH tenants in need, we give bidders who can provide effective suggestions for caring the tenants, e.g. establishing volunteer teams to provide volunteer services to the community in the estate and to visit the elderly or individuals/ families in need, etc., additional marks during the tender evaluation, thereby increasing their chances of winning the bid. In addition, the HD organises the annual Estate Management Services Contractor Awards and the Best Security Staff election to commend service contractors and security personnel who have performed well and actively assisted needy residents in the estate. This aims to encourage them to go the extra mile and take the initiative to care for the estates’ PRH residents.
Starting from April this year, the HD launched the pilot scheme of Door Sensor Installation for Elderly Households in Wan Hon Estate in Kwun Tong and Sheung Lok Estate in Ho Man Tin. The elderly households who voluntarily participate in the scheme are equipped with the system which allows designated relatives or friends to keep track of the movement of the elderly in and out of their flats so as to provide timely support when needed. The HD will actively explore the feasibility of implementing other similar schemes in collaboration with other government departments and social welfare organisations, with a view to benefitting more elderly households in other PRH estates.
In addition, the HA also provides subsidies to eligible elderly tenants for the installation of emergency alarm system (Safety Bell), allowing the tenants to seek help timely in case of emergencies. Elderly tenants who require to install Safety Bell but are not receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance can apply for the Emergency Alarm System (EAS) Grant from the HA. Since February 2021, the grant has been extended to mobile devices, including mobile phones and watches equipped with EAS, smartphones with dedicated EAS mobile app installed and other products, allowing elderly tenants to purchase suitable emergency alarm system products on their own. Since the implementation of the grant scheme, approximately 26 000 applications have been approved. The HD has also installed fall detection systems in accessible toilets in some housing estates on a pilot basis to detect situations such as falls, fainting, prolonged stays, etc.
The estate offices under the HA actively assist the Care Teams in promoting care activities, organising community events and providing visits and services to families in need (including elderly households). In addition, the HA collaborates with non-governmental organisations annually to organise activities in various PRH estates. These activities include outreach visits to identify elderly singleton and hidden elders, providing them with support services such as meal delivery, home repair and cleaning services, escort service for medical appointments, etc., so as to help them maintain basic living needs, expand their social networks and provide emotional support.
The HA will continue to implement the aforementioned measures and will conduct timely reviews, striving to meet the needs of tenants.
MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –