Hong Kong's housing minister is standing firm on a plan to ban the confusing practice of overstating the size of new flats for sale, with the bill to go before lawmakers next Wednesday, despite developers' objection.
The bill - intended to improve transparency in the housing market and end dishonest sales tactics by developers or agents - was approved by the Executive Council yesterday in a form similar to a draft proposal put forward for public consultation, Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng said.
'It is a fair, balanced, practical and effective package aiming to introduce uniform standards to the industry,' Cheng said.
'The public consultation shows there is a clear consensus the proposed legislation should be enacted as soon as possible.'
She was responding to concerns that Legco could fail to pass the bill before its term ends in July.
Developers are fighting the proposal to end the long-standing practice of using gross floor area - the size of a flat plus its share of common areas, such as hallways and clubhouses - in marketing material.
Critics say the practice confuses buyers and allows developers to inflate the size of a flat arbitrarily, and Cheng says it is not possible to allow developers to continue using gross floor area in marketing material for reference purposes. 'We cannot regulate something that has no standard,' she said. 'It is impossible to have something on a price list just for reference when such a list is regulated by a law with criminal offences.'
