Hong Kong subdivided flat tenants facing eviction slam government for not rehousing them
Eight households living in an industrial building in Kwun Tong fear imminent eviction from their homes amid government crackdown
A group of 12 people from eight households living in a Kwun Tong factory building’s subdivided flats has accused the government of failing to rehouse them ahead of a clearance operation, while the administration argued that it was required to remove illegally converted units to ensure public safety.
Non-government group Society for Community Organisation, representing the tenants, said on Friday that they faced imminent eviction after their landlords decided to implement a removal order issued by the Buildings Department in October 2014.
There is no legal definition of a subdivided flat. The term is commonly used to describe a flat that has been partitioned into two or more self-contained cubicles. Many are illegally converted and are popular with needy families.
A tenant, who wished to be identified only as Mr Tsui, said he had been living with his wife and two young daughters in two cubicles on the building’s rooftop for years.
“I paid HK$3,000 a month for two units with a total area of 140 square feet,” the father of two told the South China Morning Post.