The Housing Department today reminded all applicant households under the Cash Allowance Trial Scheme to make truthful declarations on the application and related forms. Those who have made false statements will be required to return their cash allowance and their public rental housing (PRH) application will be cancelled.

The department said 26 PRH general applicant households declared earlier that they were eligible for public housing allocation while filling out the application and related forms for the scheme.

However, subsequent investigations by the department revealed that the declarations made by these households did not conform to the facts, including instances where their total monthly income and/or total net asset value exceeded the relevant limits set by the Housing Authority for PRH applications, or they concealed their ownership of domestic properties or related interests in Hong Kong.

The department had taken further action against such cases, including the cessation of cash allowance disbursements, recovery of any overpaid amounts of allowances and cancellation of their PRH applications.

It also referred the cases to Police for follow-up as the applicant households may be liable to prosecution for making false statements or declarations, or for providing false documents.

The department said that all applicant households under the scheme should provide true and correct information. They should also notify the department immediately if there is any change in their family circumstances during the period of receiving the cash allowance.

Deliberate provision of false information or omission of information with a view to obtaining the cash allowance by deception is a criminal offence, it stressed.

Other than returning any overpaid amount of cash allowance, offenders are liable to prosecution and a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment. In addition, applicant households' PRH applications will be cancelled.

Launched in late June 2021, the scheme provides a cash allowance to eligible general applicant households who are not living in public housing, not receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, and have been waiting for PRH for more than three years but have not yet been offered the first allocation in order to relieve the pressure on their livelihood.