Latest news with #WinnieHo
RTHK
12-07-2025
- Business
- RTHK
'Four years enough time for shoebox flat renovations'
'Four years enough time for shoebox flat renovations' Winnie Ho says people shouldn't fear that rents for upgraded basic housing units will increase, as supply of public housing is increasing. Photo: RTHK Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho on Saturday expressed confidence that owners of shoebox flats will have plenty of time to make necessary changes to their properties to meet new minimum standards currently being considered in Legco. She noted that owners of flats that aren't up to scratch have a total of four years to register their flats and make the needed renovations to comply with new requirements such as a minimum size of eight square metres, the provision of windows and an individual toilet. "Because we currently have a one-year registration period and a three-year grace period, there is a total of four years for everyone to discuss and digest the situation," Ho told an RTHK programme. "We have teams of social workers available to help anyone who needs it. I certainly hope that within these four years, everyone will feel they have enough time to handle the situation -- if they'd put up too many partitions and they have to renovate, surely four years is enough time to renovate a flat, right?" Ho also stressed that even landlords who don't plan to rent out their subdivided units face prosecution if they fail to register their properties. The housing chief urged owners to apply quickly to take advantage of government waivers of a proposed HK$3,000 accredition fee per unit for early birds. Ho also brushed aside suggestions that these upgraded 'basic housing units' will result in higher rents, saying she actually expects rents to go down as housing supply increases. "In early 2025, compared to early 2024, the average rent for subdivided units in Hong Kong dropped by two percent, while general rents have increased. As we all know, market rents are rising, with an overall increase of eight percent," she said. "Rents for subdivided units not only didn't rise, but fell by two percent, creating a gap of 10 percent. We have the land to build and complete public housing so people are moving in. Also, as more light public housing become available, people may choose to stop renting [shoebox flats], which will also have an impact."
South China Morning Post
22-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong shoebox flat owners urged to comply with shake-up after years of profits
Hong Kong's housing minister has urged the owners of substandard subdivided flats to comply with a coming regulatory regime that is expected to cost landlords after years of huge profits. The appeal from Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin on Sunday came two days after the government gazetted the Basic Housing Units Bill, which aims to phase out subpar living spaces. The move follows calls from Xia Baolong, Beijing's top official on Hong Kong affairs, for the city to 'bid farewell to subdivided flats and 'cage homes''. Ho on Sunday said: 'When you subdivided a flat into many partitions back then, it was expensive … You still did it because [you] felt that the rental income provided a return. This was a market decision.' She also pointed out that landlords had enjoyed years of profits as a result of their investments. 'Our society has a demand and hopes that [low-income households], when in need, can have living spaces with basic sanitary conditions and a basic amount of room,' the minister said.
RTHK
22-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Landlords urged to register basic housing units early
Landlords urged to register basic housing units early Housing Secretary Winnie Ho has called for the early registration of basic housing units. File photo: RTHK Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho has urged subdivided flat landlords to register their properties as basic housing units as soon as possible. Her call came after the government gazetted the Basic Housing Units Bill, which will be introduced into the Legislative Council for its first and second readings next month. From as early as March, landlords will have a year to register followed by a three-year grace period to renovate their flats to meet government requirements, which include a minimum size of eight square metres. Speaking on a Commercial Radio programme on Sunday, Ho said the government would reduce or waive a HK$3,000 accreditation fee for owners who register and complete any renovations early. 'Landlords who register early will enjoy the grace period and an exemption of the accreditation fee. We have designed a fair system, so landlords don't need to hesitate.' Ho said in four years she expected to see around 80,000 basic housing units meeting government requirements. She also said she thought the rent for these units would not rise that much as there would be more public housing supply in future.
The Standard
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The Standard
Second phase of JC PROJECT LIFT reaches out to more grassroots families
HKSAR Government Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho (centre), Club Steward Philip Lo (left), and JC PROJECT LIFT Advisory Committee Convenor Clement Cheung (right) officiate at the 'LIFT Together LIVE Better: The new chapter begins with you' ceremony.
South China Morning Post
11-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong lawmakers back criminalising of subletting public rental flats
Hong Kong lawmakers have approved the government's proposal to criminalise the subletting of public rental flats or the use of such properties for business purposes, with the offence to carry a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a HK$500,000 (US$63,700) fine. Advertisement Lawmakers on Wednesday voted on the Housing (Amendment) Bill, which introduces new offences under the Housing Ordinance to combat serious abuse of public flats. Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin stressed that the amended law would not cover normal interactions with neighbours, such as tutoring, and tenants working from home. 'As long as you are not using the flat for delivering and storing goods, and strangers are not coming in and out frequently for payment and collection, new working models, such as working from home and dealing with matters online, are not considered serious abuse,' she said at the Legislative Council meeting. 'The amendment is to combat those who are no longer living in the public rental flat but are using the property for profit-making.' Advertisement Ho added that the government would step up the promotion of the policy and strengthen training for officers enforcing it before the law took effect on March 31 next year.
