Bill to cap rents for shops at Hong Kong public housing estates clears first hurdle but battle remains to get support from lawmakers for it
- Regina Ip’s bill, which aims to limit rent increases at malls managed by the Link Reit, was given the go-ahead by the Justice Department’s law-drafting division
- To date, Ip can count on only seven votes for the bill, which some parties say would harm the city’s status as the world’s freest economy
An adviser to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has cleared the first hurdle in moving a private member’s bill to the legislature to cap rent rises for shops at public housing estates but she still has a long way to go before introducing it.
Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said on Monday the law-drafting division of the Department of Justice raised no objection to her bill and the Transport and Housing Bureau was studying whether it was related to government policies or operation.
The New People’s Party leader and lawmaker last month floated the idea of legislating to limit rent increases for stores in malls managed by the Link Reit, Asia’s largest real estate investment trust.
Ip, who is a member of the Executive Council, the city’s top decision-making body, planned to move a private member’s bill in the legislature.
She proposed capping rents with a formula that took into account property values, median household income and inflation.
She also called for a vacancy tax on stores left empty for more than six months.