Hong Kong needs more public housing, rent controls, NGO says after survey on low-income residents’ struggles

Report by advocacy group SoCO found that some people were paying twice as much per square foot for bed space as those paying for private flats

‘As such a developed society, it is quite unreasonable that we do not have rent controls,’ one SoCO organiser said

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The Society for Community Organisation releases its latest report on the need for rent control and increased public housing on Sunday. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Published: 4:18pm, 4 Oct 2020Updated: 4:36pm, 5 Oct 2020

Hong Kong’s leader must include measures in the coming policy address that centre on ramping up construction of public housing, and impose rent controls to improve living conditions for low-income residents, a human rights advocacy group has said.

A survey conducted by the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) found that low-income residents renting 18 sq ft bed spaces were paying more than double the rent per square foot as those living in 160 sq ft private flats.

“As such a developed society, it is quite unreasonable that we do not have rent controls,” SoCO community organiser Sze Lai-shan said. “This means landlords can choose to raise rents to any amounts or kick their tenants out at any time, and we receive reports [of that] almost every week.”

On Thursday, the head of the central government’s liaison office, Luo Huining, visited underprivileged residents in Sham Shui Po, the city’s poorest district. Commentators noted the political significance of the move on National Day, suggesting it showed Beijing was concerned about unemployment and housing problems in Hong Kong, and was sending a message to local officials about doing more to address those core issues.

The Transport and Housing Bureau, meanwhile, said on Sunday that a task force studying tenancy controls on subdivided housing set up three working groups in July to look at the social, economic and legal aspects of implementing rent control.

It said the research by outside experts had started, with the task force expected to submit a final report by the first half of next year. However, it declined to “express any stance” on the matter, saying “tenancy control is a very controversial issue, and there is no consensus in the community so far”.

Previous SoCO surveys have found that more than 80 per cent of the city’s low-income residents have lost their jobs or been underemployed since the coronavirus pandemic started, with the latest survey further highlighting the struggles underprivileged Hongkongers face.

The survey of 439 residents was conducted from mid to late September, with more than 80 per cent of respondents saying they had applied for public housing, and more than 60 per cent having waited for more than three years.