Operators of Over 60 Percent of Subdivided Flats in Hong Kong Apply for Grace Period

Operators of over 60 per cent of subdivided flats in Hong Kong have applied for a three-year grace period to give themselves more time to comply with a regulatory regime rolled out six months ago, the housing minister has said.

Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said on Thursday the applications involved more than 70,000 subdivided units from about 20,000 complete flats, as of Monday. This was more than double the 34,000 applications received as of August 10.

Monday marked the deadline for the initial six-month “early bird” registration phase under the Basic Housing Unit Ordinance, which took effect in March. Landlords who applied during this period would be eligible for a waiver of HK$3,000 (US$382) in certification fees per subdivided flat in the coming three years.

“The early bird initiative has brought about a very significant rise in registration applications. Hong Kong has roughly 110,000 subdivided units. In other words, the registration applications have covered over 60 per cent of the city’s subdivided units,” Ho said on social media.

She added that the registration applications also reached about 90 per cent of the estimated 80,000 subdivided flats expected to continue operating under the new regime.

Under the ordinance, only subdivided flats that comply with the minimum requirements and are certified as “basic housing units” can be leased legally on the market.