CHUNG KWOK MAN v. THE HONG KONG HOUSING AUTHORITY AND ANOTHER

CHUNG KWOK MAN v. THE HONG KONG HOUSING AUTHORITY AND ANOTHER

The court dismissed the judicial review applications: there was no clear and unambiguous representation or enforceable policy that retiring FSD officers occupying departmental quarters would necessarily be allocated public housing on their last application; allocation is governed by the CM priority and fixed quota set by the HA and Housing Department, no legal discretion existed to treat individual circumstances outside that scheme, and the claimed expectation was unreasonable and unsupported by cogent evidence.

Citation
CHUNG KWOK MAN v. THE HONG KONG HOUSING AUTHORITY AND ANOTHER
Parties
Applicant: Li Kim Ming; Applicant: Chan Hon Kit; Applicant: Chung Kwok Man; Applicant: Ng Ka Cheung; Applicant: Wong Kwan Leung; Applicant: Ng Yiu Pui; 1st Respondent: The Hong Kong Housing Authority; 2nd Respondent: The Director of Fire Services
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
27 May 2016
Case Number
HCAL108/2015
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review (constitutional and Administrative Law) / Judgment
Outcome
Applications dismissed
Legal Topics
Legitimate Expectation, Judicial Review, Discretion and Policy, Allocation of Public Housing Quotas, Wednesbury Unreasonableness, Estoppel by Convention (addressed and Rejected)
Source Language
EN
Administrative Law Constitutional Law Public Housing Law Civil Service Law Legitimate Expectation Judicial Review Discretion and Policy Allocation of Public Housing Quotas +2 more

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Parties

Li Kim Ming

Applicant

Chan Hon Kit

Applicant

Chung Kwok Man

Applicant

Ng Ka Cheung

Applicant

Wong Kwan Leung

Applicant

Ng Yiu Pui

Applicant

The Hong Kong Housing Authority

1st Respondent

The Director of Fire Services

2nd Respondent

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review (constitutional and Administrative Law) / Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a clear and unambiguous legitimate expectation or policy existed that FSD officers occupying departmental quarters would be allocated public housing under the Civil Service Public Housing Quota Scheme at the latest on their last pre-retirement application
  2. 2 Whether the Housing Authority or Director of Fire Services breached policy or made decisions inconsistent with a binding representation
  3. 3 Whether the Housing Department/Authority had a legal discretion to consider individual compassionate or personal circumstances outside the Circular Memorandum allocation priorities

Ratio Decidendi

The court dismissed the judicial review applications: there was no clear and unambiguous representation or enforceable policy that retiring FSD officers occupying departmental quarters would necessarily be allocated public housing on their last application; allocation is governed by the CM priority and fixed quota set by the HA and Housing Department, no legal discretion existed to treat individual circumstances outside that scheme, and the claimed expectation was unreasonable and unsupported by cogent evidence.

Court Disposition

Applications dismissed

Orders

  • Applications dismissed
  • Order nisi that costs of the applications be paid to the respondents to be taxed if not agreed