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Edith Lin

Oscar Liu

Hong Kong surveyors have proposed a minimum size of 100 sq ft for subdivided flats as the government works to eliminate substandard housing, but experts have said the profession’s suggested area is barely sufficient for a single occupant.
Lai Kin-kwok, a senior lecturer in the Felizberta Lo Padilla Tong School of Social Sciences at Saint Francis University, said the proposed dimensions were still cramped.
“One hundred sq ft is a very minimum requirement in a sense that all the daily necessities just barely fit in,” said Lai, an expert in substandard housing.
“If it is for two people, it should be at least double.”
He was speaking after the Institute of Surveyors made a series of recommendations on subdivided flats – shoebox homes notorious for hygiene, safety and security hazards.
Lai said the government should explain why the minimum size requirement was considered adequate if it chose to adopt the institute’s recommendation when the smallest size allowed for new-build private homes was 280 sq ft.
The suggested 100 sq ft is about the size of five average front doors laid side to side or 3.04 metres (10 feet) by 3.04 metres.
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.


A source said the government had consulted a variety of interested parties on the subject and was drafting its proposals. But the source added the task force had still to decide on a minimum size for subdivided flats.
The institute said on Friday the 100 sq ft requirement was “the golden mean”.
“We estimate more than 30,000 subdivided flats are smaller than 100 sq ft,” institute president Francis Lam Ka-fai said.
“Our proposed standard has struck a balance between improving the safety of the living environment and minimising the impact on residents.”
Lam added that many subdivided flats would not be able to reach the required standard if the minimum size requirement was too high, which could create more problems.
Emma Lau, assistant manager of non-profit organisation Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong, said its survey had found that minimum size for subdivided flats should be at least 11 sq metres (119 sq ft) per head to be sufficient and that the standard for households should be aligned with public rental housing.
Government statistics show the average living area per head for Housing Authority tenants is 13.8 square metres (148 sq ft) in 2023.
“The survey also highlighted whether the kitchen and bathroom in subdivided units should be separated to tackle hygiene issues,” Lau said.
“Even if separation is not possible, we need to see if there are possibilities of having some form of partition,” Lau said at a residents’ consultation organised by the Concerning Subdivided Units Alliance on Sunday.
Lau added ceiling heights were also a concern and that loft spaces with a lack of headroom could cause discomfort for occupants.
“We hope to convey these opinions to the government,” she said.

The surveyors’ institute also suggested that kitchens and toilets should be separated in subdivided flats and that occupants should be banned from using open fires for safety reasons.
It added that the government should also ban subdivided flats in industrial buildings and those illegally built on balconies and rooftops.
The institute said the government could also consider the creation of a registration system to monitor subdivided housing.
It added substandard housing could be given a year for it to be brought up to par and that unregistered operators should face legal consequences.
Lai agreed that the government had to step up enforcement efforts if it adopted a registration system. He added officials could also look at ways to encourage operators to sign up.


He said the government could consider rectification of the worst subdivided housing in the first stages, but that suitable homes to resettle affected occupants would have to be found.
Tik Chi-yuen, a lawmaker and welfare worker, said the completion of light public housing and transitional homes, along with a government promise to provide sufficient public flats in the next 10 years, signalled authorities had confidence they could cope with demand for resettlement from subdivided unit occupants.
“But during the transitional period, the government needs to provide economic and community assistance to them,” Tik warned.
“You can say goodbye to subdivided flats, but you can’t just say goodbye to the tenants and leave them homeless.”


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Expert in substandard housing says Institute of Surveyors’ minimum recommendation of 100 sq ft still on the cramped side
But institute president highlights that at least 30,000 existing subdivided flats smaller than its suggested minimum and proposal ‘struck a balance’


Expert in substandard housing says Institute of Surveyors’ minimum recommendation of 100 sq ft for subdivided flats still on the cramped side.


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