Calls to manage preliminary lease ranges in Hong Kong’s infamous subdivided flats dismissed by senior housing official

“The foremost goal of presidency coverage is to guard the dwelling surroundings of the residents and assist them resettle in additional ample housing. Imposing preliminary lease ranges for them can not guarantee they’ll have dwelling surroundings.”

On the centre of Monday’s dialogue was the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) (Modification) Ordinance, which got here into impact in January 2022.

The ordinance caps lease rises for subdivided flats at not more than 10 per cent per two-year lease interval. Occupants and landlords should additionally signal a regular tenancy settlement setting out the lease, deposit, utility expenses and charges incurred within the occasion of a breach of the contract.

The legislation additionally stipulates that electrical energy and water expenses for all tenants in a subdivided unit should not exceed the full acknowledged within the invoice for the entire flat. Violators face a most positive of HK$10,000.

However concern teams have lengthy urged the federal government to manage preliminary lease ranges. They mentioned some landlords set rents at the next price realizing they may not ask for an additional improve till the tip of the two-year contract.

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The grim actuality of life in Hong Kong’s ‘coffin houses’ | Speaking Publish with Yonden Lhatoo

The grim actuality of life in Hong Kong’s ‘coffin houses’ | Speaking Publish with Yonden Lhatoo

Questioning Tai, lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun of the Roundtable group mentioned: “If the Score and Valuation Division can assess the rateable values of varied properties, there is no such thing as a purpose the federal government can not decide a lease stage for particular person subdivided flats.”

He added: “With out the preliminary lease ranges getting regulated, the legislation can not provide any safety to needy residents. It flatly exposes residents to exploitation.”

A division examine of twenty-two,466 tenancy agreements discovered that the median month-to-month lease of subdivided flats was HK$5,100. Almost half had been between HK$4,000 and HK$5,999, legislators heard.

380 households at Hong Kong public rental estates personal personal flats

In keeping with official figures, as of the tip of February, there have been 2,941 circumstances of landlords suspected of breaching the legislation, of which, 153 had been efficiently prosecuted, with fines starting from HK$500 to HK$18,600.

Prosecutions had been initiated in one other 63 circumstances with hearings pending.

Panel deputy chairman Vincent Cheng Wing-shun of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong urged the federal government to boost the penalty.

“Who will trouble to look at the legislation if the consequence is a positive of a number of thousand {dollars}?” he mentioned.

3 new Hong Kong ‘neighborhood dwelling rooms’ for folks in subdivided flats to open

Legislators on Monday additionally backed a one-year extension for a trial scheme offering money allowances to eligible needy households who’ve queued for public housing flats for greater than three years.

With authorities funding of HK$8 billion, by end-February, HK$4.25 billion had been disbursed to about 97,500 households because the trial scheme was launched in June 2021.

Month-to-month allowances vary from HK$1,300 for a single-member family to HK$3,900 for ones with six or extra folks.

About 221,700 candidates are on the ready listing for a public flat. The typical ready time is 5.8 years. Officers mentioned they anticipated the time to fall with the projected elevated provide in public flats within the coming few years.

Earlier than Monday’s assembly, representatives from an alliance for subdivided flat tenants petitioned among the lawmakers. They argued that the low prosecution numbers confirmed the lease management scheme was not efficient.

In addition they wished the money allowance scheme to be regularised.