Hong Kong’s development chief pledges crackdown on illegal residential units in industrial buildings
Paul Chan Mo-po says officials will be given power to enter private premises and prosecutions could follow
The development chief has pledged to empower officials to step up inspections of industrial buildings, and is considering imposing tougher penalties on landlords hosting illegal residential cubicles.
The new measures come after three units in a five-decade-old industrial block in Cheung Sha Wan caught fire last week in which units were found to have been illegally divided for residential use.
During a question-and-answer session in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, lawmakers asked if authorities would take any follow-up action to deal with industrial buildings home to illegal subdivided units that posed fire hazards.
Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po admitted housing officers faced huge difficulties inspecting such buildings for illegal cubicles because they did not have the power to enter private premises.
“We cannot see the internal structures until we enter a unit. It can be very troublesome if the owners do not cooperate with us,” Chan said.
“We hope to equip them with more power so they can enter suspicious flats.”
The third-alarm blaze, coming just days after an inferno that killed two firemen at a mini-storage facility in Ngau Tau Kok last month, started at 11.30pm in an eighth-floor flat in Cheong Fat Factory Building on Un Chau Street last Thursday.
Two teenage siblings and a fireman were hurt. The siblings reportedly lived in the industrial building with their mother and stepfather, while mini-storage facilities were situated on different floors of the building.
Chan said the authority would consider terminating leases and laying criminal charges against company board directors operating illegal residential cubicles.
“In about 20 prosecuted cases over the years, offenders have only been given fines. We will consider criminal proceedings in future,” Chan said.
Illegally changing the use of a building or carrying out unauthorised building work could violate the Buildings Ordinance. Failure to comply with a removal order for such work can mean a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of up to HK$200,000.
The Buildings Department has been conducting a large-scale operation against illegal residential units in industrial buildings since 2012.
As of the end of May, the department had inspected 99 targeted industrial buildings and issued 110 removal or discontinuation orders.
