THE disclosure that 3,000 of the 5,000 homes in Fairview Park, Yuen Long, did not have occupation permits was a 'storm in a teacup', a senior government official said yesterday.
The Government hopes to be able to discover soon that some of the homes are legally exempt from the need for such permits, said Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands Bowen Leung Po-wing.
An inquiry was launched after revelations that several banks had refused to process mortgages because the owners did not have the occupation permits.
At yesterday's Legco planning, lands and works panel meeting, Mr Leung said the Government was looking at records of occupation arrangements for the homes in the estate when they were put on the market more than 20 years ago.
He said some of the houses did not need permits because they were exempt like village homes in the New Territories if they complied with certain requirements on height and area.
'We have to look at every one of the homes to find out whether they need the occupation permit in each case,' he said.