Photo: The Housing Authority is combating abuse of public housing by checking tenants’ assets, including cars.

The Appeal Board (Housing) is an independent statutory body established under the Housing Ordinance to adjudicate appeals against terminations of tenancies of HA tenants.

The Chairperson of the Appeal Panel (Housing), Ms Cheung Lui Po-yee, said that if a tenant has any objection, he or she must lodge an appeal within 15 days from the date on which the Housing Authority issues a notice to vacate the tenant.

The Appeal Tribunal responsible for hearing the case consists of three committee members, including two legal members and one non-legal member, one of whom serves as the Chairman of the Appeal Tribunal.

Under normal hearing procedures, once all parties including tenants have completed their statements and raised questions, the Appeal Tribunal will immediately hold a closed-door hearing and make a decision. The final review result will be notified to the appellant and the Housing Authority in writing by the Committee Secretariat within 14 days after the hearing.

Ms Cheung said that many decisions of the Appeal Tribunal were unanimous in confirming the Notice to Quit issued by the Housing Authority, because the Housing Authority generally issued the Notice to Quit after in-depth investigation and with clear grounds. Tenants can apply for judicial review, but no successful review cases have been heard of.