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Poor response to problems at housing estates

Peter So

The Ombudsman has urged the Housing Department to step up its handling of tenants' complaints involving claims after it found a lack of follow-up action.

Ombudsman Alan Lai Nin described the department as being 'too passive' in helping tenants seek damages and criticised the department for not properly following up complaints it filed with insurance claim adjusters.

The Ombudsman highlighted six cases in its report on the department's handling of complaints.

The department would refer the complaints involving claims to the adjusters automatically and it would seldom monitor any follow-up action by the adjusters, the Ombudsman found.

The report also said the department would rely on the investigations by the adjusters - who would limit their inquiries to the liability, the extent of damages and negotiate a settlement.

Investigating the root causes of the accidents and measures to prevent them recurring would be overlooked without a parallel investigation by the department.

The Housing Department is responsible for 154 public housing estates with 1.8 million residents. The department filed more than 360 complaints to insurance adjusters in 2007.

Department guidelines require staff to monitor the adjuster's handling of claims - including their progress and making settlement offers.

In one case in 2005, a tenant who was hit by a falling piece of ceiling concrete and sought damages had not been given updates eight months after the incident, the report said. The tenant had to chase the department for information.

Mr Lai said this showed that the department did not actively monitor the follow-up actions of the claims adjuster.

In a case last year, a tenant complained of seepage from an unoccupied flat and claimed for the cost of repair works, which the tenant had paid. The adjuster initially declined a compensation agreement, but then advocated one only when the tenant asked if the department had conducted regular inspections on unoccupied flats.

It showed both the department and adjuster had overlooked the root cause of the incident, but only attempted to seek a quick settlement, Mr Lai said.

A department spokesman said yesterday it accepted the 11 recommendations in the Ombudsman's report and would enhance staff training to remind them to follow guidelines in handling complaints.

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