Faulty regulations fail to penalize tardy public housing occupants

Chan Meng Kam

The president of the Follow-up Committee for Public Finance Affairs has acknowledged that flawed regulation is hampering the government’s efforts to penalize public housing unit grantees who delay moving into their assigned affordable housing units. Chan Meng Kam spoke yesterday after a conference in which lawmakers reached no consensus with the government over whether a full or partial amendment was needed for the regulation.
The existing affordable housing law, the amendment to which is believed to have reached the Legislative Assembly for a vote before the summer recess, still lacks specific articles and terms that target offenders who fail to occupy their housing units before a designated date. As Chan revealed, the occupancy rate at the afordable housing complex stands at around 80 percent, while its other two housing counterparts have so far almost reached full occupancy.
The committee members acknowledged in the two-hour, closed-door meeting that the authorities currently have no statutory power to bring those offenders to justice. Such power can only become a reality if the government conducts a full review of the law. The committee has agreed that such a review should always be preceded by a public consultation period.
“After the government’s consultation with the Legal Affairs Bureau and the Commission Against Corruption, the two departments said that, at the moment, there is no condition to support the punishment of the offenders,” stated the lawmaker.
Nonetheless, Chan Meng Kam told the media that several committee members have pointed out that the agreements signed by the occupants empower the government to penalize them if they are caught breaching the rules and regulations.
“Some lawmakers stressed that, regarding the principles of self-
use of the flats, the government still has the right to inspect the cases [of non-occupation] and hold those offenders responsible for the unoccupied flats, despite there being no punitive terms laid down in the law,” said Chan.
Most proprietors who are yet to reside in their new units in Seac Pai Van have repeatedly complained about the shortfall of facilities in the housing’s surrounding neighborhood. During a forum held by the New Macau Association late last month in the Seac Pai Van quarter, residents accused authorities of reckless planning.
In regard to the accusations, Chan said that the government has pledged to report to the legislature on the progress of infrastructure construction in that district prior to the parliamentary recess this upcoming August.
However, the government also wishes to clarify the definition of “non-occupation” in the legal amendment – a definition it believes would support the authorities’ enforcement powers when handling violators.
“What’s ‘unoccupied’? How do we define it? There are various opinions  about  it among  society,”
Chan said, citing a number of regulations. He subsequently added that the city’s legal departments hold the opinion that the authorities’ enforcement could only be achieved under the “principle of legality.”
When it comes to social housing units on the other hand, Chan said that the non-occupation cases were “inconspicuous.” However, the opinions received from the public suggest that applicants have suffered from bureaucratic procedures in the public departments, which most of the time have required them to make a number of journeys to finish the entire application. Staff reporter