Roof squatters claim rights to ownership
Families living on top of block of flats counter clearance order by telling judge they have lived there long enough to qualify as the legal owners
Owners of a building in Sham Shui Po may lose possession of their rooftop under a claim for squatters' rights, the District Court heard yesterday.
The squatters staked their claim after owners took them to court in an effort to enforce a removal order to clear the roof that was issued by the Buildings Department.
Of the 10 families living on the rooftop, four have been there for more than two decades and argue that gives them the legal rights to possession.
Choi Ngai-chun, representing owner-occupants of the 50-year-old building on the junction of Tai Nan Street and Kweilin Street, said the removal order was issued under the Buildings Ordinance in September last year. They are trying to enforce the removal through the civil courts.
Judge Lawrence Yip Sue-pui yesterday extended the deadline to leave from the end of this year to February 11 next year in the case of 10 squatters, in view of their financial hardship.
For the four households now claiming squatters' rights, he asked them to provide evidence in the next two months to prove how long they had been living on the rooftop.