Legislative Assembly requires clarification on economic housing law

The compensation process for applicants excluded in the preliminary selection stage in the process of allocating economic housing who are later found by the Administrative Court to have been wrongly excluded requires further clarification. This point was explained by the President of the Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL), Chan Chak Mo, which met yesterday to assess the changes proposed by the Government to the economic housing law. “Articles number 24 and 28 state that the applicants excluded are entitled to appeal the decision to the Administrative Court. But the process to allocate economic housing will not be suspended while the appeal is being considered. However, if an excluded applicant is proven to have the right to economic housing will the government have extra economic housing to provide to [that person]?”, Chan Chak Mo asked journalists. “The government has to clarify this issue to the committee”, he added. “We understand that the purpose of not stopping the process to allocate economic housing while there is an appeal is to speed up the process. But in these cases there are always winners and losers. What if a decision that proves the excluded candidate’s right is only known after the economic housing was allocated? Will the government pay a compensation fee?” he asked. Another topic the President of the Second Standing Committee needs to clarify is the fact that the excluded applicants will also be considered in selection and draw procedures, despite the fact that they have already been excluded. More economic housing needed The current changes to the Economic Housing Law being studied by the Legislative Assembly proposed by the government seek to speed up the process of the allocation of economic housing. By introducing a preliminary selection stage, the Executive expects to inform applicants as soon as possible whether they are eligible to receive one of the economic units. Yesterday, Chan Chak Mo said that the best way to solve the housing problem in the territory is for the government to increase the supply of economic housing, which in turn will ease demand in the housing market. “The most important thing is for the government to provide enough supply of economic housing in order to reduce the demand in the market for housing. However, it must be said that the government is already putting [forward] its best efforts in order to increase supply”, the Member of the Legislative Assembly said. When the changes were first introduced by the government, the spokesperson, Leong Heng Teng, said that by August the preliminary selection could be done. But yesterday Chan Chak Mo said that the date to send the law review to the plenarium will depend upon the government’s availability to clarify the process to the committee.