Hong Kong lawmakers urge timely, flexible urgent accommodation for subdivided flat evictees

Hong Kong authorities should offer more timely and flexible urgent accommodation for residents uprooted by a new regulation aimed at eliminating the city’s notorious subdivided flats, lawmakers have urged.

Their comments were made on Tuesday after the Housing Bureau briefed lawmakers on plans to reserve up to 180 transitional flats in urban and extended urban areas to tenants evicted on short notice.

Scott Leung Man-kwong, deputy chairman of the Legislative Council’s housing panel, said he believed 180 transitional flats would be enough to meet urgent demand, as landlords were prohibited from terminating tenancies before contracts expired and were unlikely to take the risk.

“I believe landlords do not wish to bear the legal consequences, even if they plan to quit the subdivided housing market. Most will follow tenancy agreements,” Leung told a radio programme.

“In most cases, evictions do not involve an entire building and affect only dozens of households with urgent rehousing needs. The 180 reserve units should be sufficient.”

But Leung cited the bureau as saying it would take a week to arrange a reserve flat, as applicants must go through three rounds of review deemed necessary by the government.