Residents displaced by urban renewal get raw deal: survey

Poor compensation has forced Shamshuipo people to move away or take smaller flats, study claims

Residents relocated by an urban renewal project in Shamshuipo are now living in more crowded housing after receiving inadequate compensation, a study commissioned by the Shamshuipo District Council has found.

Yip Hak-kwong, Director of Policy 21, an independent research institute associated with the University of Hong Kong, said the Urban Renewal Authority had neglected its duty to provide suitable accommodation to residents and businesses forced out of Po On and Wai Wai roads.

His calls were echoed by council members, who said many were forced to accept their compensation package because they knew they could be kicked out under the Land Resumption Ordinance.

About 300 households were affected by the redevelopment project.

The study found only about 10 of the affected owners managed to find a flat in a block less than 10 years old, despite compensation that is supposed to provide for an equivalent seven-year-old flat nearby. Thirty per cent of residents had to move out of the district.

'The standard of living of those who were forced to move has been seriously affected, especially the elderly,' district councillor Brandon Young Kwok-kin said.