Hong Kong’s Henderson Land, NGO team up to offer transitional housing for dozens of families living in subpar conditions
- More than 107,000 households staying in subdivided flats, with Henderson Land and Centre Stage Squarer among those offering temporary housing relief
- Two dozen families set to move into transitional flats under programme by developer and NGO to help improving living conditions for those waiting on public housing
Homemaker Ada Lau and her two-year-old daughter are among more than 107,000 households in Hong Kong living in subdivided flats, with the pair’s home becoming damp and mouldy when their roof and pipes leak during heavy rainfall.
“Water drips from the ceiling and there is mould everywhere, it is really bad for our health,” the 33-year-old mother said. “I always have to bring my daughter outside because we don’t like to stay at home.”
The pair’s subdivided flat in Quarry Bay is an illegal extension built onto another home and costs the family HK$5,000 (US$639) a month in rent and utilities.
But Lau and her daughter will join two dozen families moving into transitional housing next month, after developer Henderson Land and NGO Centre Stage Squarer launched a programme on Wednesday to help those stuck in subpar living conditions.
Lau visited a newly refurbished transitional housing flat on Leighton Road in Causeway Bay that is provided under the scheme and said it would ensure her daughter could grow up happier and healthier.
