Exclusive | Rich privilege? Post finds most homes at 3 luxury Hong Kong estates suspected of having enlarged properties without official approval
- Nearly 90 per cent of houses at Flamingo Garden on Kowloon Peak, Villa Rosa in Tai Tam and Seaview Villas in Tai Po have suspected unauthorised additions
- Surveyor and structural engineer say works could be substandard and pose danger not just to occupants but also nearby homeowners
An overwhelming majority of homeowners at three upmarket estates in Hong Kong are suspected to have enlarged their properties on public land without approval and at essentially no cost for years, a Post investigation has found, exposing the scale of the malpractice in the land-scarce city.
Nearly 90 per cent of the 50 houses in Block B of Flamingo Garden on Kowloon Peak, Villa Rosa in Tai Tam and Seaview Villas in Tai Po studied by the Post – valued at between HK$50 million (US$6.39 million) and HK$119 million each – are suspected of having unauthorised additions at or near their properties. Some of these additions were built on government-owned slopes, sparking safety concerns among industry professionals.
Liber Research Community, an NGO focusing on land and development issues, released a report after the Redhill scandal studying the latest satellite images and government maps. It found 173 luxury houses citywide had occupied government land without approval.
Based on the findings, the Post investigated three estates to study the extent of such works, comparing drone footage with the government’s lot boundaries on the Lands Department database while cross-checking whether the owners had short-term tenancies that would allow them the extra space at full market rent.
