Freer hand for landowners among think tank’s proposals to boost land supply for homes in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Policy Research Institute also suggested an authority be created to help landlords tackle red tape and even bypass planning rules
Rural landlords would be given a freer hand to develop properties for sale under a proposal by a Hong Kong think tank that could see some 1,000 hectares of privately owned but idle land made available much more quickly for building homes.
The Hong Kong Policy Research Institute also proposed that a new authority be created to help landowners tackle red tape and even bypass planning rules.
Hong Kong had a land area of about 1,111 sq km, of which a quarter was built up, while the rest was countryside, mainly in the New Territories, according to a 2016 Planning Department study.
Private landlords and developers owned 1,000 hectares of rural land, according to official estimates, but it was mostly left idle because of planning restrictions and a lack of infrastructure.