Periscope
Other Stories
Kitty Lam
Dogs fall victim for housing rules
by Kitty Lam
Dog owners in public housing estates have be en forced to face a difficult choice since the introduction of the Marking Scheme for Tenancy Enforcement ¡V¡V either to send their pets away or to move out themselves.
Some owners have given up their animals after they failed to obtain permissions from the authorities to keep their pets. They criticised the scheme's rules for being unreasonable and unfair.
Dogs are regarded as one of those animals that cause nuisance and are forbidden under the marking scheme, which has been in effect since August 2003 to improve environmental hygiene of the public housing estates.
Tenants are only allowed to keep small household animals that do not pose any health hazard or nuisance. That includes cats, pet birds, hamsters, rabbits, tortoises and aquatic lives. Wild and domesticated animals such as snakes, monkeys, pigs, chickens, ducks and pigeons are strictly prohibited.
Dogs that have been staying in the public rental flats before the regulations may be kept until they die naturally. But they must weigh less than 20 kilograms and their owners need to have documents of the dogs' licensing, vaccination, micro-chipping and sterilisation arrangements. Otherwise, the animals must be disposed of from the premises. Statistics from the Housing Department showed 12,857 dogs were registered after the implementation of the rules.
Tenants are not allowed to raise any new dogs in their units.
Huen Wing-man, a 19-year-old tenant in Shek Lei Estate in Kwai Chung, said the regulations were unfair. Miss Huen had to abandon one of her two dogs because she failed to submit the papers. ¡§It was an old Pekingese which was unable to reproduce anymore. But it was too old to have sterilisation operation. So I couldn't get the required documents and couldn't get the permission of keeping it,¡¨ she said.
She complained that some tenants cheated. ¡§Tenants only have to hand in pictures taken together with the dogs to prove their ownership. Some tenants keep forbidden dogs while handing in documents of other qualified dogs. The housing management officers will not go to their flats and check on their pets once the documents are submitted.¡¨
Lau Lo-wah, another tenant in Shek Lei Estate, finds the conditions unreasonable. ¡§The weight of dogs is not necessarily related to how much nuisance they cause,¡¨ said Miss Lau, who used to keep a beagle that weighed over 20 kilograms. ¡§It is a big hunting dog but it is always calm and quiet. It never attacks people.¡¨ She sent the beagle to her brother when the scheme was implemented.
Even if the tenants have obtained the permissions, it is not the end. They must also observe a set of rules.
For example, they are restricted from taking their pets into the estate lifts between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. . They have to use the stairs instead.
¡§This is extremely inconvenient for dog owners,¡¨ said Miss Lau who still keeps a Pomeranian and lives on the fifth floor. ¡§For me, walking downstairs is acceptable. But it's too tiring going upstairs. It will be even more inconvenient for those who live on higher floors.¡¨
Owners must not allow their pets to foul the public areas. Miss Lau said that was acceptable, as it was the responsibility of pet owners to clean up the place for their animals. ¡§They won't charge us if our dogs urinate in public because they know it's the natural behaviour of dogs,¡¨ she said.
Some estates, such as Shek Lei Estate, also restrict their tenants from taking their dogs to the estate gardens. Miss Lau has to take her Pomeranian to the streets nearby for walks.
¡§It is dangerous,¡¨ she said. ¡§There are only a few railings on the streets around my place.¡¨ Her dog once suddenly ran out to the road when she took it for a walk. ¡§Fortunately there were no cars on the road at that time,¡¨ she said.
At present, the Housing Department will revoke an owner's permission for keeping his dog if there are two complaints of nuisance against the animal.
A tenant will also be subjected to five penalty points if he is found keeping unregistered animals or dogs in violation to the rules. He will be told to move if he gets 16 points in two years.
Lawmaker Choy So-yuk criticised the rules under the marking scheme for not being flexible enough, although they are needed to maintain good hygiene. ¡§The elderly who live alone, for example, need dogs very much for security and psychological reasons,¡¨ Ms Choy said. But the Housing Department only gives concession to people with visual or hearing disabilities for keeping guide dogs,
she said.
According to a survey conducted by the Housing Department, the proportion of tenants satisfied with the cleanliness in public housing estates rose to 64.3 per cent in 2005 from 52.1 per cent in 2003. Seventy-six per cent of the tenants said the marking scheme had improved the estate cleanliness.
However, those figures are not necessarily related to the restrictions on pet keeping, said Hui Kong-on, a tenant of Shan King Estate in Tuen Mun and the owner of a Shih Tzu.
¡§The scheme involves many rules, such as restrictions on accumulation of wastes in corridors, stairs and premises, and regulations on leaking pipes, flower pots and exhaust fans. I think these regulations are the more direct reasons for the improvement in hygiene,¡¨ he said.
A spokesperson for the Housing Department said the marking scheme was not applicable to subsidised flats such as housing courts under the Home Ownership Scheme and the Private Sector Participation Scheme.
Still, regulations on dog keeping are also found in private properties.
¡§The policy of keeping pets in private housing estates normally depends on their deeds of mutual covenant,¡¨ said a Mr Lee, who has 20 years' experience in private housing management but declined to give his full name. ¡§Generally, private buildings either ban keeping pets or allow it but with restrictions.¡¨
Lam Chui-yee, 49, who lives in Belvedere Garden in Tsuen Wan, said her housing estate banned dogs, but she still kept a schnauzer.
¡§I know it is forbidden, but I can't leave my dog,¡¨ she said. She puts her dog in a bag when she takes the lift. ¡§The security guards will report me if they see the dog.¡¨
Lo Kuai-fun, 50, who lives in Park Central in Tseung Kwan O, said some private housing management companies forbade dog keeping regardless of the terms of the deeds.
Although the deed of her building allows dog keeping unless there are two complaints received, she was once stopped from taking her dog home. ¡§I didn't receive any complaints at all but the securityguard didn't let me bring my dog home anyway,¡¨ Ms Lo said. ¡§When I argued with the officers, they told me it was for the convenience of the management company.¡¨
No matter what the arguments were, Ms Choy said the ultimate victims were the pets. The lawmaker pointed out that the animals were innocent. ¡§Sometimes, causing disturbance is not the fault of the pets, but the owners themselves.
For example, pets will make disturbing noises when they're sick or hungry. But if the owners take good care of them, such disturbance won't happen.¡¨
