Ombudsman Jack Chan has recommended the Housing Authority (HKHA) and the Housing Society (HKHS) conduct thorough land searches for public rental housing (PRH) applicants before determining their eligibility for allocation.

The recommendation was part of a comprehensive set of 31 improvements proposed by the office following its investigation into the government's efforts to combat the abuse of public housing resources.

Chan said alongside screening existing tenants, preventing abuse at the source through rigorous vetting can significantly minimise misuse, adding that a new mechanism can make the process more cost-efficient and task effective.

"In the past, it cost almost HK$640 for each verification. With the intervention of my office through this investigation, the Housing Authority and the Housing Society have devised a new mechanism by which both organisations will submit these tenants' information or declaration by batches to the Land Registry and use a computerised system to verify the information," he said.

"This has significantly reduced the cost for such verification process from HK$640 per case down to HK$4 per case."

Other recommendations include developing specific incentive schemes for the staff of property service agents and security contractors to encourage their participation in combating abuse and enhancing communication with mainland and Macau authorities to obtain information about tenants' property ownership in those regions.

The watchdog commended the authorities for successfully reclaiming over 7,000 flats over abuse or violations of tenancy agreements, but Chan pointed out that the highest prosecution rate in the past seven years was only 4.2 percent in 2024.

He said some tenants were evicted from their units but did not face prosecution for PRH abuse, while the two-year prosecution limit passed for other cases.

Chan said he hopes that authorities will consider extending the prosecution time limit and imposing heavier penalties.

The Housing Department (HD) thanked the watchdog for its investigation report, and said they would review and study the recommendations to enhance existing measures and explore new methods to combat abuse.

"We just launched the Report Public Housing Abuse Award on January 15, hoping to gather more accurate intelligence on tenancy abuse for taking action. To strengthen the deterrent effect and gradually reduce the abuse of public housing resources, we are also actively exploring amendments to the Housing Ordinance to criminalise the act of serious tenancy abuse, targeting to have the Bills passed in the Legislative Council in mid-2025," a spokesman for the HD said.

"We hope that capable tenants will surrender their PRH flats so that precious public housing resources can be allocated to those in genuine need, optimising the use of public housing resources."