The government started its crackdown against illegal building work in the New Territories yesterday, but there were no officials to be seen in villages rumoured to be on the list.
The Buildings Department is to send removal orders to owners of village houses that seriously breach the standard three-storey format.
However, under a new system, villagers who own homes with lower-risk illegal structures must now register with the department within the next six months and appoint a professional to carry out regular inspections of the add-ons. Once registered, these structures can be kept for at least the next five years.
The government has targeted nine villages in nine districts of the New Territories in its crackdown, but it has not named the villages.
Fuk Hing Tsuen in Yuen Long was expected to be among the first to be inspected as it is the source of a high number of complaints, village representative Wong Lai-sum said. But residents did not see any officers yesterday.
Although the government promised to offer loans to people who were forced to demolish structures, village representative Choi Kin-sun said removal costs would remain a burden for them. He said the government should also rehouse affected people.
Yuen Long is the district where the government received the highest number of complaints about illegal structures last year - 1,162 out of a total of 3,503.