Exclusive | Why didn’t Hong Kong set stricter rules to wipe out its notorious shoebox flats?
Setting a larger minimum size for subdivided flats would have meant delays in supplying homes to those affected, minister says
Hong Kong would have needed “at least a few more years” to wipe out its notorious subdivided flats if authorities had set standards requiring landlords to offer bigger homes for rent, the city’s housing chief has said.
The government has proposed eight square metres (86 sq ft) as the minimum size, a target that has been criticised as unambitious and reflecting a lack of political will to deal decisively with the issue.
But in an exclusive interview with the Post, Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said if authorities had set a larger minimum size of nine or 10 square metres, it would take even longer to eliminate subdivided homes as the government would need to wait for enough public and transitional housing to resettle an extra 20,000 households.
“Everyone is very impatient and hopes we can tackle those subdivided homes with very poor conditions sooner,” she said.
Authorities turned their attention to subdivided flats after Beijing’s top official overseeing Hong Kong affairs said in July 2021 that the city should get rid of them and “cage homes”.
