- Licensing Scheme for Residential Care Homes for Persons with Disabilities

The Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities) Ordinance (the Ordinance) commenced operation on 18 November 2011 (except Part 2 on sanctions for operating a residential care home without a licence or certificate of exemption) and was fully implemented on 10 June 2013. The Ordinance provides for the control of residential care homes for persons with disabilities (RCHDs) through a licensing system administered by the Director of Social Welfare, to ensure that residents of RCHDs receive services of acceptable standards physically, emotionally and socially.

Any person who operates, keeps, manages or in any other way has control of a residential care home for persons with disabilities without a valid licence or certificate of exemption commits an offence. The maximum penalty on conviction is a fine at level 6 ($100,000 at present) and imprisonment for two years, and in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine of $10,000 for each day can be imposed.

For RCHDs that exist immediately before commencement of the Ordinance (i.e. 18 of November 2011) yet are unable to comply fully with the legislative requirements, the operators may apply for a Certificate of Exemption (CoE) in order to allow time for existing RCHDs to make improvements for meeting the licensing requirements and standards. All RCHDs that are established and operated on or after that date should be subject to regulatory control by way of the issue of a licence rather than CoE, so as to ensure the services of RCHDs meet the statutory standards and to protect the interests of persons with disabilities more effectively. 

The Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities) Ordinance and the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance (Cap. 459) are mutually exclusive. Under the principle of mutual exclusion, any home which fits into the definitions of a residential care home under the above Ordinances is only required to hold one valid licence under either of the Ordinances, and should not apply for licence under both Ordinances simultaneously.