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Coupons, not cash, may be given to families on welfare

The Housing Department will introduce measures to reduce worsening rent arrears, possibly including a coupon system to ensure people on welfare pay on time.

An official  pointed to this yesterday, as the department gave figures showing 40 per cent of $50 million in rent arrears last year was owed by Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients.

But the figures were challenged by a  welfare activist who said the department was manipulating its data to blame those on the dole.

The figures were presented to a meeting of the Housing Authority's subsidised housing committee held yesterday on the work plan for the coming year. They showed that arrears increased from 2.6 per cent of the total rent income in 2000 to 5.6 per cent last year.

It is understood 600 welfare families  constantly on the rent arrears list have agreed to make payments directly from their bank accounts when their welfare is paid by the Social Welfare Department.

The two departments are also studying the possibility of a system under which dole recipients would be given coupons instead of money to pay their rent.

Other measures the Housing Department wants to study include how to improve the estate management companies' efficiency on getting rent on time.

Any family who fails to pay for two consecutive months would be given a removal notice.

No figures were given on how many families had been kicked out for non-payment, or on how many non-welfare families were on the constant rent overdue list.

Committee member and Society for Community Organisation director Ho Hei-wah said the figures had been 'well designed to discriminate against welfare recipients'.

'In the past, the housing officials would attribute the rent delay to the bad economy. But they no longer say it this way this year.'

He said the figures were also misleading in presenting the arrears as a bad debt. 'They told us the money involved was $50 million. But these are late payments rather than bad debts. They want to make the public  think a large amount of public money was lost. But it is not the case.'

The department wants to lower the rate of rent delay cases to 4.5 per cent in the coming fiscal year.



Measures loom to tackle rent arrears