Hong Kong authorities mulling longer grace period for substandard-flat repairs, housing chief says
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong housing authorities are mulling a longer grace period for operators of subdivided flats to make repairs and for tenants to relocate, Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho has said.
“We have received views saying that the grace period should last 36 months, and that would allow both landlords and tenants more time to move out or make renovations,” Ho said on Sunday.
“I think a three-year grace period is something that can be considered,” she added.
Ho also said that authorities were considering relaxing a requirement for each subdivided unit to have a street-facing window – one of the requirements for a flat to be approved as a Basic Housing Unit, under a proposed law to phase out substandard homes.
The housing chief spoke on a Commercial Radio programme days after the two-month consultation for the government’s crackdown on substandard housing ended last Monday.
Submissions collected under the consultation would be introduced to the Legislative Council “as soon as possible,” the Housing Bureau said.
The grace period, previously proposed to be between 12 and 24 months, will begin following a registration period. It will last 12 to 18 months, requiring all owners to register their flats regardless of whether they are up to the legal standard.
Once the grace period ends, landlords who are still leasing substandard units may face up to three years in prison and HK$300,000 in fines, according to the Housing Bureau.
The Hong Kong Basic Housing Units Operators Association was among those that called for a longer grace period, saying it would “allow landlords to make the needed renovations within a reasonable amount of time, to upgrade the quality of the living environment,” according to its submission to the bureau.
In his 2024 Policy Address last October, Chief Executive John Lee announced that Hong Kong would pass a law requiring subdivided units to have at least 8 square metres (86 square feet) in floor space and a ceiling height of 2.3 metres, as well as windows and an individual toilet.
The association has also asked that the government relax the requirement for each Basic Housing Unit to be equipped with a street-facing window. Windows facing an enclosed four-sided yard would not be compliant with the government’s proposals.
Ho said it might be possible to relax the window requirement depending on hygiene conditions, such as air quality, garbage disposal access, and the courtyard size. However, she added that further consideration was needed.
She also said that the Housing Bureau has received calls for a cap on initial rents and for the new regulation to include a per capita living space. “But if we want larger units but lower rents, that would conflict with the interests of landlords,” Ho said.
The government’s proposed floor space requirement of 8 square metres does not include a cap on the number of people living in a single unit.
Ho also ruled out allowing operators to install exhaust fans instead of windows, saying living in such a space would be akin to living in a “box.”
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