Hong Kong’s subdivided flats: officials may set minimum size between 75 and 108 sq ft
- Size range put forward by housing minister Winnie Ho could lead to elimination of more than 10,000 substandard flats, according to data
Hong Kong is considering setting a minimum size for the city’s subdivided homes at between 75 and 108 sq ft, the housing minister has said, a move that will potentially eliminate more than 10,000 substandard flats.
Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said on Saturday the government would offer a grace period for owners to make necessary adjustments to subdivided flats that did not meet the new requirements.
“There will be a registration period or a grace period to give everyone some time to correct their issues before we conduct enforcement based on our priorities,” she told a radio show, appealing to residents not to be worried about the efforts to crack down on substandard housing.
Ho said the minimum size being considered was between “seven and 10 square metres” (75 and 108 sq ft), which was based on suggestions collected earlier from different parties.
Recommendations made over minimum standards also included introducing requirements for ceiling heights, windows and toilet ventilation, she said.
At least 220,000 people in the city live in subdivided flats – homes carved up by separating a property into tiny cubicles that are notorious for hygiene, safety and security hazards.
The government last October pledged to eradicate poor quality subdivided housing and set up a task force to study the problem with a view to submitting proposals 10 months later.
One measure under the plan was to set a minimum standard for subdivided flats, which was currently being devised by a cross-departmental task force chaired by Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun.
According to statistics from the Census and Statistics Department in 2021, there were 10,170 subdivided flats measuring less than seven square metres, which accounted for 9.5 per cent of the 107,371 homes surveyed.
Ho said authorities would carry out enforcement of the new standards based on their priorities, instead of immediately imposing a blanket ban on flats that did not fulfil the minimum requirements.
Asked whether the eradication of the substandard homes would affect rent prices, Ho said the current costs were unreasonable, citing rates of HK$7,000 (US$896) a month being paid by some for flats of about 80 to 100 sq ft in size.
No one would choose to pay for these flats if better alternatives were available, she said.
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Sze Lai-shan, deputy director of the Society for Community Organisation, a non-governmental advocacy group, said the most important thing was to properly define “subdivided flats” such as by setting the minimum living space per person and stipulating required facilities.
“If the minimum size of seven square metres is for one person, of course it’s OK. But if this size is for three or four people, it will be a problem,” she said.
“So the authorities need to set an average living space per person for subdivided flats. They also need to stipulate the required facilities such as kitchens and toilets.”
Sze added the government must also manage the relocation needs of the affected residents if their flats were phased out because of non-compliance or they were required to be renovated.
She said the new regime should also cap starting rents at an affordable level.
Lawmaker Vincent Cheng Wing-shun, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said the minimum size range being considered by authorities was acceptable.
He added that the new system should also address other environmental and safety concerns.
“This threshold is reasonable. But the new regime should also set standards for air quality, environmental hygiene, fire safety measures, kitchens and toilet facilities,” he said.
Authorities should also set a timeline for weeding out poor-quality subdivided flats, Cheng said.
“They should set a target, such as eliminating these substandard flats in three or five years,” he said.
The housing minister also provided more details about how points would be calculated to select residents for “light public housing”, with the first 4,440 of such flats receiving applications from June 24.
The temporary homes will serve families on the waiting list for a standard public rental flat for three or more years.
Ho noted that the government would consider four main factors when assessing applicants: current living environment, personal health condition, family composition and willingness to Ho noted that the government would consider four main factors when assessing applicants: current living environment, personal health condition, family composition and willingness to move to flats in the New Territories.
She added authorities would also arrange for interested residents to view flats later this month.
