Families displaced after a Mid- Autumn Festival fire razed their huts in Kau Wah Keng Old Village are illegal squatters who fail to qualify for special public housing, the Lands Department said yesterday.
A legislator also estimated that two-thirds of the victims would fail to qualify for public housing and would have to move to interim housing.
The department said 88 people in 34 families had been registered as displaced victims seeking public housing after their squatter huts were razed on October 2. Its spokesman said none were legal squatters.
Under its policy, legal squatters are given public housing if they have been affected by a natural disaster, or they must apply for public housing.
Democrat lawmaker Lee Wing-tat, who had been helping 31 families apply for public housing since the fire, said about two-thirds failed to meet the requirements.
The Housing Department had received 21 rehousing applications from the Lands Department. Vetting interviews would be held this week.
