‘Hongkongers living in subpar housing continue to pay inflated water prices 9 months after authorities outlawed practice’
- Survey by concern groups finds 90 per cent of tenants in subpar housing in Tsuen Wan say they were overcharged for water by landlords
- Overcharging for utilities is prohibited in bill passed nine months ago, but NGOs urge authorities to better enforce and explain legislation change
More than 90 per cent of Hongkongers living in subdivided flats have said they were still being overcharged for water by their landlords, according to a poll by two concern groups, only nine months after a law was passed to prevent such practices.
The study, which was jointly conducted by the Tsuen Wan Old District Tenants Action and the Caritas Community Centre in Tsuen Wan, was released at a press conference on Monday. The poll surveyed 243 people living in subdivided flats and other subpar housing in Tsuen Wan from December to January.
According to the survey, 90 per cent of respondents said they had paid HK$13 to HK$18 (US$1.65 to US$2.29) per cubic metre of water each month.
The amount was higher than rates paid by households not living in subdivided flats to the Water Supplies Department (WSD), which does not require residents to pay for the first 14 cubic metres before charging a rate capped at HK$9.05 per cubic metre for further usage.
Many low-income households living in subdivided flats in rundown buildings are often forced to share a water meter with their fellow tenants and do not receive separate bills. Such living conditions allow landlords or principal tenants to decide the amount that each occupant pays.
Last May, the Legislative Council passed a bill that forbade anyone from reselling water at a higher price than the official rate set by the department. Initially proposed by legislator Alice Mak Mei-kuen, the law aims to prevent landlords from overcharging tenants, a common practice in subdivided flats.
