About 800 old tenement buildings are getting a free clean from the government as part of efforts to spruce up Hong Kong.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has already cleaned the common areas, back alleys and staircases of 68 buildings that do not have owners' associations to conduct maintenance work. The remainder of the privately owned buildings will be scrubbed by September.
'We decided to clean these buildings for free this time as we did not give the landlords enough time to create owners' associations,' said Gregory Leung Wing-lup, the department's director. 'In future, they must do the upkeep themselves.'
But Mr Leung admitted it could be difficult to force landlords to keep the buildings clean, so the department is considering a new law to make them comply.
The cleanup is one of several initiatives the department has taken as part of the government's Team Clean efforts, organised after the Sars outbreak.
Litterbugs and spitters are the main targets. Since plainclothes officers went on to the streets last Thursday, about 300 tickets have been issued to offenders, each carrying a $600 fine.