Housing officials offer no solution to HK's subdivided flats problem
Lawmakers say subdivided flats are a disgrace to Hong Kong, but officials cannot keep up with demand for more public rental homes
Housing officials could offer no solution to the problem of subdivided flats, which lawmakers yesterday said were a disgrace to the city.
At a meeting of the Legislative Council's subcommittee on long-term housing strategy, lawmakers said they were appalled by the severity of the problem revealed when government-commissioned research was made public earlier this week.
The study by the University of Hong Kong estimated that more than 171,000 people were living in subdivided flats in old buildings, usually with fire or overcrowding risks, with an average living space of 68 sq ft per person.
While high rents were blamed, research found that the average rental per square foot was HK$29.1 - that compares with an average HK$22.80 per sq ft for a small private flat in Kowloon, according to figures from the Rating and Valuation Department in March.
"This really is a disgrace for Hong Kong. One square foot in sub-divided flats is even more expensive than luxury flats. These are people who can't get public housing and they have no choice but to live there," said the Labour Party's Lee Cheuk-yan.
Half of the 66,900 households in subdivided flats are on the waiting list for public housing, and 13.7 per cent live on welfare.