The Report Public Housing Abuse Award will be launched on January 15, with a view to combating tenancy abuse in public housing estates, the Housing Authority announced today.

To encourage reporting, the authority said it will present a certificate of appreciation and offer a maximum cash reward of $3,000 to people who provide information that leads to the authority’s successful issuance of a Notice-to-Quit (NTQ) to households with tenancy abuse.

Except for staff directly employed by the Housing Authority or Housing Department, any person aged 16 or above who can give genuine and concrete information causing NTQ issuance to households with tenancy abuse may join the award.

While informants’ identity will be kept strictly confidential, investigation details and results will not be disclosed to the informants, the authority noted.

It further explained that as a cash reward will be offered, participants must provide their real names on the reports and indicate their intention to join the award. The reports will be preliminarily assessed and the participants will be interviewed for verifying the accuracy of the data provided.

Citizens may report tenancy abuse cases through filling out a report aerogramme or online form, calling the reporting hotlines, writing an email or informing the estate offices.

To prevent misuse, cases pending rewards will be reviewed by an assessment panel, the authority added.