Hong Kong aims to ‘truly’ tackle city’s issue of subdivided flats in long run, leader John Lee says
Hong Kong Free Press
The Hong Kong government hopes to “truly” tackle the city’s subdivided flats issue in the long run, Chief Executive John Lee has said in a consultation session ahead of his next Policy Address in which he is expected to introduce minimum requirements for subdivided dwellings.
The chief executive was speaking to reporters on Sunday after a two-hour consultation before his Policy Address in October, held at a secondary school in Mong Kok. Asked about the government’s plan to set minimum living standards for subdivided housing, Lee said his administration aims to tackle the subdivided flat issue.
“The objective is to solve [the issue of] subdivided flats, not just the issue of ‘substandard’ ones. We want to truly tackle this problem in the long run,” he said in Cantonese.
Lee’s consultation came after the government-appointed Task Force on Tackling the Issue of Subdivided Units submitted the report to the leader on Thursday. In his Policy Address last year, Lee introduced plans to set up a task force to look into substandard housing. Since then, political parties, surveyor groups, and NGOs have made proposals on what should be considered a suitable living space.
Around 215,700 people live in subdivided flats in Hong Kong, where a housing market known for exorbitant prices leaves few options for the city’s low-income households. NGOs have long called attention to the cramped living spaces and safety hazards in subdivided units, which are often carved out of flats in old tenement buildings.
Housing crunch
Lee on Thursday gave the task force a month to submit a supplementary report with “additional elements” that he took into account following consultations with stakeholders.
Lee also revealed on Sunday that he would present the government’s plan for tackling the issue of subdivided housing in the coming Policy Address. He is expected to list minimum requirements for a unit’s size, height, fire resistance, hygiene, and ventilation.
Also on Sunday, Sze Lai-shan, the deputy director of NGO The Society for Community Organization (SoCO), said she hoped subdivided flats could be eliminated across the board.
At a forum, SoCO called on the government to make sure subdivided flat tenants are rehoused if they are evicted from a unit because it is considered substandard by the authorities. The NGO had previously expressed concerns that an inadequate resettlement plan would only drive tenants to other illegal subdivided units.
Hong Kong leader Lee had earlier said economic growth would be the focus of his third Policy Address after the enactment of a homegrown security law in March laid the groundwork for the city’s stability.
Economic woes
One resident who attended Lee’s consultation on Sunday, surnamed Wei, said she hoped the government would introduce policies to boost local spending – such as distributing consumption vouchers – amid the trend of Hongkongers heading to the mainland and spending their money there.
Lee said the government would hold talks with Beijing on how to increase “traffic” in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lee also acknowledged that some industries were facing challenges, even as Hong Kong saw a 3 per cent rise in the economy in the latest quarter. The city would continue to see a “positive growth trend,” he said, citing the US Federal Reserve chair’s announcement on Friday that “the time has come” for interest rate cuts.
“During this transitory period, we have to understand that every industry must come up with innovative ways to play to its strengths, and at the same time, the government will also try its best to help industries with difficulties,” Lee told reporters.
The chief executive’s remarks came after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong’s de facto central bank, announced it had set up a task force to help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) struggling to repay loans.
“[T]he HKMA and the banking sector will work together to continue providing support for SMEs seeking bank financing, and walk side-by-side with SMEs to get through this rather difficult time,” HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue said in a statement on Friday.
During a Friday meeting, Hong Kong’s three note-issuing banks – HSBC, Standard Chartered, and the Bank of China – said their risk appetite towards SME financing had not changed.
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