Residents of border town Sheung Shui are up in arms over changes to their neighbourhood brought by an increasing number of importers using flats to store goods.
'About one in 20 people buying or renting homes at Sheung Shui Centre and Choi Po Court are parallel traders,' said James Chong Tsz-man, an associate director of Centaline Property Agency for Sheung Shui and New Territories North.
Chong said his agency had not acted for any such buyers or tenants but the practice began a few years ago and the number of traders using Sheung Shui flats for storage was increasing.
Sheung Shui is the last northbound station on the East Rail Line before the Lo Wu terminus. Passengers without a Closed Area Permit or valid passport and visa must disembark at the station.
Unlike other MTR stations, the platform at Sheung Shui is at ground level, which means there are no steps to negotiate - an added attraction for traders transporting goods.
Wong Sing-chi, legislator and district councillor for New Territories North, said he had received around 20 complaints from Sheung Shui residents in the past year claiming that their neighbouring apartments were being used as storage units.
'The situation has grown worse in the last 12 months and has affected the rental market in Sheung Shui and pushed up rental prices and demand,' Wong said.