Poor tenants still ripped off for utilities: Soco
Subdivided flat tenants are still at risk of being overcharged for utilities, the Society for Community Organisation (Soco) warned on Sunday, pointing out that most of them are still being ripped off on water fees.  Soco spoke to 376 such tenants in May and June this year, and found that the majority of them were unclear how they were being charged by their landlords for water and electricity. It also discovered that 74.2 percent of subdivided flat tenants are still being overcharged for water bills, despite an amended regulation in 2021 stating that landlords can only charge tenants for water charges paid to the Water Supplies Department. "Even with the [proposed] revised fine from the Water Supplies Department, it's not very high. I think you would need to reach at least HK$50,000 or more to have a greater impact," Soco’s deputy director Sze Lai-shan said. Those found guilty of the offence are liable to a HK$10,000 fine. The Water Supplies Department has proposed a HK$25,000 fine for second or subsequent convictions, which was tabled to Legco last month. Soco also found that only 3.6 percent of respondents would file a complaint if they suspected they were being overcharged, and nearly half of the respondents were afraid that their identities would be exposed and their leases would be affected after making a report. "We believe that the government should have a settlement policy if the residents really complain and it leads to them having nowhere to live, they should be settled in public housing or at least other social housing," Sze said. Soco suggested the government should strengthen law enforcement against landlords and increase penalties.