Ramshackle subdivided flats in Hong Kong’s old buildings are an ‘urban ticking time bomb’, researchers warn
Study finds cubicle homes in almost 90 per cent of aged buildings in some of city’s oldest areas
Dilapidated subdivided flats exist in almost 90 per cent of aged buildings in some of Hong Kong’s oldest neighbourhoods and are an “urban ticking time bomb” that may cause fires and outbreaks of disease, researchers have warned.
A study, released on Sunday, found cubicle homes in 285 out of 324 buildings with an average age of 55 years in Yau Ma Tei, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po and Kowloon City.
Some 1,700 flats were subdivided into 5,500 smaller units in the buildings. In one case, a flat was split into 10 homes.
Researchers from the Concerning Grassroots’ Housing Rights Alliance and the University of Hong Kong’s Ronald Coase Centre for Property Rights Research found that some buildings housed up to six times the number of flats they were designed for, leading to overpopulation, threatening structural safety and increasing fire escape difficulties.
But less than 20 per cent of the buildings with subdivided flats had fire alarm systems, and under 25 per cent were equipped with fire extinguishers or fire hoses.