📋 Tender Overview
Fortyeight landlords of subdivided units SDUs who contravened Part IVA of the Landlord and Tenant Consolidation Ordinance Cap 7 the Ordinance pleaded guilty and were fined between 800 and 19200 amounting to a total of 152830 on October 2 October 9 October 16 and today October 30 at the Eastern Magistrates Courts Since the Ordinance came into force the Rating and Valuation Department RVD has continuously strengthened enforcement actions and has prosecuted a total of 1 628 cases to date Among the 1 444 cases dealt with by the court all were successfully convicted which involved a total of 1 263 SDU landlords amounting to a total of 4034540 in fines In addition 184 cases are pending a hearing
The offences of these 48 landlords include 1 failing to submit a Notice of Tenancy Form AR2 to the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation within 60 days after the term of the regulated tenancy commenced 2 failing to produce copies of the bills and provide an account in writing when requiring the tenant to pay for the reimbursement of the apportioned water andor electricity charges 3 failing to provide the tenant with a rent receipt and 4 requesting the tenant to pay money other than the types permitted under the Ordinance including requiring the tenant to pay an amount of rent for the secondterm tenancy exceeding the maximum amount of rent permitted under the Ordinance
The RVD earlier discovered that the landlords failed to comply with the relevant requirements under the Ordinance Upon a comprehensive investigation and evidence collection the RVD prosecuted the landlords
A spokesman for the RVD reiterated that SDU landlords must comply with the relevant requirements under the Ordinance including prohibiting landlords from doing any act calculated to interfere with the peace or comfort of members of the tenants household with the intention of causing the tenant to give up occupation of the SDU or requiring the tenant to pay an amount of rent for the secondterm tenancy exceeding the maximum amount of rent permitted under the Ordinance and also reminded tenants of their rights under the Ordinance including a fouryear ie two years plus two years security of tenure He also stressed that the RVD will continue to take resolute enforcement action against any contraventions of the Ordinance Apart from following up on reported cases the RVD has been adopting a multipronged approach to proactively identify investigate and follow up on cases concerning landlords who are suspected of contravening the Ordinance In particular the RVD has been requiring landlords of regulated tenancies to provide information and reference documents of their tenancies for checking whether they have complied with the requirements of the Ordinance If a landlord without reasonable excuse refuses to provide the relevant information or neglects the RVDs request the landlord commits an offence and is liable to a maximum fine at level 3 10000 and to imprisonment for three months Depending on the actual circumstances and having regard to the information and evidence collected the RVD will take appropriate actions on individual cases including instigating prosecution against suspected contraventions of the Ordinance
To help curb illegal acts as soon as possible members of the public should report to the RVD promptly any suspected cases of contravening the relevant requirements Reporting can be made through the telephone hotline 2150 8303 by email enquiriesrvdgovhk by fax 2116 4920 by post 15F Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road Kowloon or in person visiting the Tenancy Services Section office of the RVD at 7F South Tower Tseung Kwan O Government Offices 30 Tong Yin Street Tseung Kwan O New Territories and please call 2150 8303 to make an appointment Furthermore the RVD has provided a form Form AR4 wwwrvdgovhkdocenformsar4pdf on its website to enable SDU tenants reporting to the RVD
The RVD reminds that pursuant to the Ordinance a regulated cycle of regulated tenancies is to comprise two consecutive regulated tenancies ie the firstterm tenancy and secondterm tenancy for an SDU and the term of each regulated tenancy is two years A tenant of a firstterm tenancy for an SDU is entitled to be granted a secondterm tenancy of the regulated cycle thus enjoying a total of four years of security of tenure The RVD has been issuing letters enclosing relevant information to the landlords and tenants concerned of regulated tenancies in batches according to the expiry time of their firstterm tenancies to assist them in understanding the important matters pertaining to the secondterm tenancy and to remind them about the procedures that need to be followed about two months prior to the commencement of the purported secondterm tenancy as well as their respective obligations and rights under the Ordinance These landlords and tenants may also visit the dedicated page for the secondterm tenancy on the RVDs website wwwrvdgovhkentenancymatterssecondtermtenancyhtml for the relevant information including a concise guide brochures tutorial videos and frequently asked questions The landlords and tenants concerned are also advised to familiarise themselves with the relevant statutory requirements and maintain close communication regarding the secondterm tenancy for handling the matters properly and in a timely manner according to the Ordinance
For enquiries related to regulated tenancies please call the telephone hotline 2150 8303 or visit the RVDs webpage wwwrvdgovhkenourservicespartivahtml for the relevant information
