Hong Kong Housing Authority and Housing Department

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Privacy Policy

The Hong Kong Housing Authority / Housing Department (HA/HD) is committed to adopting a Privacy Management Programme in the protection of personal data and ensuring that all personal data are handled in accordance with the provisions of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap.486). HA/HD undertakes to:

  • collect adequate, but not excessive, personal data by lawful and fair means only for lawful purposes related to HA/HD's functions or activities;
  • take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that the personal data collected or retained are accurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are to be used;
  • take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that the personal data are not kept longer than is necessary for the purposes for which they are to be used;
  • use the personal data collected only for purposes or directly related purposes for which the data were to be used at the time of collection, unless the individual concerned has given express consent for a change of use or such use is permitted by law;
  • take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that personal data are protected against unauthorised or accidental access, processing, erasure or other use;
  • take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that a person can be informed of the kinds of personal data that HA/HD holds and the purposes for which the data are to be used; and
  • permit persons to access and correct personal data of which they are the data subjects and process any such access/correction requests in a manner permitted or required by law.

Types of Personal Data Held

In discharge of its business and functions, HA/HD holds four broad categories of personal data, namely (a) employment-related personal data, (b) customer data, (c) business associate data, and (d) personal data kept by HA Secretariat.

Main Purposes of Keeping Personal Data

  1. Employment-Related Personal Data
    For recruitment and human resource management purposes, relating to such matters as employees' appointment, promotion, employment benefits, termination, performance appraisal and discipline, etc.
  2. Customer Data
    For the purposes of processing applications for public rental housing under different schemes / interim housing / cottage area permits, loan / subsidies / allowance / refunds and follow up services; and handling of offences in public housing estates, etc.
  3. Business Associate Data
    For business related purposes in relation to services HA/HD currently / prospectively / formerly engages / engaged.
  4. Personal Data kept by HA Secretariat
    For purposes which vary with nature of records, such as (i) administrative purposes in relation to the execution and functions of HA Committees / Sub-committee meetings; (ii) handling appeal cases submitted to the HA Appeal Panel; and (iii) public enquiries, etc.

Collection of Personal Data when You Visit our Website

HA/HD will record visits to this website without collecting any personally identifiable information of users. Such general statistics are collected for the compilation of statistical reports and the diagnosis of problems concerning computer systems to help us improve this website.

Cookies are used to save user preferences on their computers. No personally identifiable information would be collected and saved. Users may opt for not accepting cookies by changing browser settings. Under such circumstances, user preferences could not be saved and user experience may be affected.

When you visit this website, your internet protocol address will be identified and logged automatically in our server log files, along with the browser type and the pages that you viewed. Server logs are used to compile statistics on the usage levels of the website without collecting any personally identifiable information of users.

For different purposes and at different times you may be invited to provide personal data to us through this website on a voluntary basis. Personal information may include name, e-mail address, telephone number, fax number and mailing address. We will specify the collection purpose and intended usage of your data when you are invited to provide such information and advise you how you may request access to or correction of the personal data provided.

We use SSL protocol to encrypt data during network transmission to protect your personal data. All personal data you provide to us via this website are secured, and access to them is restricted to authorised personnel only.

Search service on this website is provided by an independent contractor of the Government. We are advised by the independent contractor that it does not collect personally identifiable information while serving search results through this website. The independent contractor will share the anonymous data it collects through the search service with the Government for compiling traffic analysis on government websites. The Government will not match the data obtained from any such search activity with any personal data possibly held by the Government.

Data Access / Correction Requests

Requests for access to personal data held by HA/HD may be made –

(i)    by filling out a data access request form which can be obtained in the HA Library at 5/F., Block 4, HA Headquarters; or

(ii)   by letter addressing to:

Departmental Data Protection Officer
Housing Department
Housing Authority Headquarters
33 Fat Kwong Street
Ho Man Tin
Kowloon
Hong Kong

Requests for correction of personal data held by HA/HD may be made by letter addressing to our Departmental Data Protection Officer at the address at (ii) above.

Charges

A charge will be made in accordance with Section 28 of the Ordinance for supplying a copy of the personal data in compliance with a data access request. For reference purpose, photocopy black and white on A3 or A4 size paper with or without enlarging, the current charge is HK$1.50 (A4 size) or HK$1.60 (A3 size) per photocopy unless otherwise stated. (Note : the above charge is subject to revision from time to time.) If the requestor prefers the requested data to be sent by registered mail, the registered mail fee will also be charged.

Practices

The following are maintained to ensure compliance with the Ordinance:

  • A Central Register of requests made under the Ordinance
  • A Data Protection Log Book, as provided for in Section 27 of the Ordinance
  • Departmental Guidelines on Personal Data Privacy Management, which is a set of administrative guidelines on requirements for compliance with the Ordinance for use by all staff who have responsibility for the management of personal data systems and dealing with requests for access to or correction of personal data; and
  • A Data Access Request Form for access to personal data held by HA/HD.

 

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