In recent months we see the intake by residents of thousands of flats in a number of large-scale new estates like Shek Mun Estate and So Uk Estate, each of which provides several thousands of public rental housing (PRH) flats. To speed up the intake process for PRH applicants, colleagues of various divisions have geared themselves up to ensure that the keys of the new flats are handed over to the prospective tenants at the earliest possible time.
Well before the completion of the estate construction works, colleagues of the Lettings Unit and Estate Management Division (EMD) had already been in close liaison with their counterparts in the Development and Construction Division for the advanced allocation of PRH flats prior to the expected dates of obtaining the Occupation Permits. Prospective tenants are informed of the respective flats being allocated and the details of their new accommodation. Furthermore, EMD colleagues maintain communication and co-ordination beforehand with various government departments, such as the Hong Kong Police Force, Social Welfare Department and Hongkong Post, so that the tenants will be provided with appropriate services at the initial intake period. During the intake, EMD especially deploys additional manpower for on-the-spot co-ordination of intake matters, which cover crowd management, handling fitting-out works applications and defect rectifications, providing assistance in the processing of intake documents, and responding to intake enquiries from prospective tenants; so that the intake process can be faster and smoother.
Last year, we launched a daily intake pilot scheme at Ying Tung Estate and Yan Tin Estate to arrange intake from Monday to Sunday. This has facilitated prospective tenants’ completion of the intake formalities, and, at the same time, expedited the PRH allocation process with a view to enabling PRH applicants to move into and settle down in their new homes earlier. With the experience gained from the pilot scheme, we tried again the enhanced arrangements at the newly completed Shek Mun Estate Phase 2 and So Uk Estate Phase 2 this year to process intake cases seven days a week as a means to assess the effectiveness of the above arrangements and determine its pace of implementation. In addition to extending the daily service hours, colleagues of the relevant divisions and outsourced service contractors handled intake formalities for the prospective tenants on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. I express my deepest appreciation to their dedicated efforts on this front!
As always, we attach importance to the built quality of public housing and have established a rigorous inspection system for acceptance. Tenants may submit a Defects Report Form (DRF) to the Intake Ambassador or Estate Management Office about any defects identified in the flats during intake inspections. The Intake Ambassador, upon receipt of DRF of the flat concerned, will refer the case to the contractor in no time. If the built quality is found not in accordance with the contract requirements, we will instruct the contractor to follow up with the maintenance and repair works as soon as possible. As a usual practice, the contractor will immediately contact the tenants for an on-site inspection after receipt of DRF and arrange for the remedial works accordingly. We have a robust system in place to monitor contractors’ performance.
To keep enhancing the planning and design of PRH estates, we usually conduct Residents Surveys about six months after intake to gauge tenants’ views on and ascertain their satisfaction levels to the facilities and services provided in the new estates. The survey results serve as a reference for new estates in future. According to statistics, the residents’ overall satisfaction rating of new estates has been over 90%. This cannot have been achieved without colleagues’ efforts! I hope that colleagues of various divisions will remain united and strive for excellence, with a view to providing comfortable homes for PRH applicants as early as possible.
Stanley Ying Director of Housing
|