Hong Kong houseboat owners facing eviction offered three-month extension with HK$150,000 deposit, but there will be no water or power
Discovery Bay Marina Club residents group says charging them to stay while removing all facilities is unacceptable
Some 200 houseboat families facing eviction from a three-decade-old marina in Hong Kong have been given an option to extend their berthing permit for three more months, but at a cost, the marina’s operator announced on Thursday.
In a statement, the Discovery Bay Marina Club said that although all memberships would be terminated by the end of this year as the marina closes for major renovation, members can choose to sign up for a new temporary contract allowing them to berth their boats at the marina until the end of March next year.
In signing up to the new contract, a club spokeswoman said, members will be required to pay HK$150,000 (US$19,136) in advance, which would be refundable when members’ boats departed or before the extension ended.
Members will also need to pay three months of berthing fees in advance at a 20 per cent discount on members’ current monthly berthing fees.
The spokeswoman said the club was offering the discount because it would be withdrawing all existing clubhouse and marina services as planned on December 31, including water and power.
