The Housing Department has issued guidelines to companies contracted to manage public housing estates following a complaint that the use of common areas was unfairly allocated.
The Office of the Ombudsman received a complaint from a community organisation last year that the property manager had unfairly allocated five common areas to two people who were conducting a resident opinion survey for seven months. The organisation had failed to gain access after three applications.
After an investigation the Ombudsman approached the Housing Department, which at first argued that it did not need to supervise the management company on these matters as the contractor should have expertise in handling them.
But the Ombudsman ruled the Housing Department needs to set guidelines to its contractors to ensure public resources are fairly allocated and that these management companies are following its policies. It also requested that the department apologise to the complainant.
'The Housing Department cannot avoid responsibilities,' said Ombudsman Alice Tai Yuen-ying.
Ms Tai revealed that in the wake of her office's intervention, the department sent guidelines to management companies in February regarding the booking of public areas at its estates.
