The Development Bureau dropped a bombshell in January by seeking a lower threshold for the compulsory auction of older buildings from 90 per cent to 80 per cent of the owners of individual units. This means that a full 20 per cent of flat owners would be forced to accept the auction of their homes based on a reserve price set by the Lands Tribunal if they refuse to sell to private developers.
The government's legal notice set off a firestorm of questions about the rationale for reducing the threshold - and the implications for ordinary citizens - at a time when property prices are skyrocketing and the rich-poor divide seems to be ever widening. The change will come into effect on April 1 unless lawmakers block it.
Dispossessing a person of his or her property is always traumatic. Even when land resumption is for a worthy public purpose, the expropriation and clearance are fraught with emotions and lingering questions about the justifications. Where dispossession is mandated for private, commercial purposes, searching questions must be raised about the rationale for legislation that would ride roughshod over property rights.
Public safety was not the pivotal consideration, the government said. Potentially dangerous buildings, such as the one that collapsed in Ma Tau Wai Road, To Kwa Wan, in January, will be dealt with under the Buildings Ordinance and by other measures that mandate building inspections. Past rulings by the Lands Tribunal indicate that it is primarily concerned with the economic justifications for redevelopment, focusing on the costs of repairs and the vastly higher post-development value.
If economics is the key, why should the government legislate to further enrich and empower developers? Small owners have been accused of greed and holding out for top prices. But if our society and government are driven essentially by economics, can you blame small owners for trying to get as much as they can?
If our government were truly 'people-based' and concerned with the lot of the underdog, why would it side with developers who stand to reap indecent profits?
