Latest news with #subdividedFlats
South China Morning Post
07-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
4,200 transitional flats earmarked for Hong Kong's displaced subdivided tenants
Hong Kong authorities have said around 4,200 transitional flats can cope with the temporary accommodation needs for tenants displaced under a future regulation that could force 33,000 subpar subdivided homes to undergo significant rectification. Under Secretary for Housing Victor Tai Sheung-shing told the legislature on Monday that the government would set aside up to 20 per cent of its 21,000 transitional homes for tenants affected by a subdivided flat regulation. The regulation will only allow those meeting the official standards to become accredited 'basic housing units' and remain on the rental market. The bill is expected to pass by the end of October and gives time for owners to register from next March, as well as fix their properties by the end of February 2030. Tai said some tenants of the 110,000 existing subdivided flats could look for basic housing units, as only 30 per cent of the current supply would have to undergo large-scale renovation to receive accreditation. He added that some tenants could also be accommodated in the 189,000 public homes to be built in the coming five years. 'We foresee that the market supply of basic housing units will not plunge. Meanwhile, we have a massive supply of public housing and transitional housing. Therefore, we are confident that the supply is sufficient,' said Tai in the legislature's housing panel.
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.
