Subject: BASIC HOUSING UNITS BILL
President, while Hong Kong always gives an impression of being a glamorous international metropolis, figures from the Government’s Long Term Housing Strategy show that there are currently 127 500 households, or as many as 220 000 persons, living in inadequate private housing in Hong Kong. This has become a dark side of this modern global city.
The problem of subdivided units (“SDUs”) is caused by multiple factors including the economic conditions, the housing policy, as well as market supply and demand. According to statistics from the Housing Bureau, nearly half of all SDUs in Hong Kong are less than 10 sq m in area, and nearly 90% of them are located in old and dilapidated buildings aged over 50 years. These units are not only cramped and with poor hygiene conditions, but also pose potential fire and structural safety hazards. The Chief Executive proposed in last year’s Policy Address to impose regulation through legislation, so that SDU tenants can live with dignity. In my view, the Government has taken a step towards the right direction and put forth the right solution; for these, the Government has my full support. However, the implementation of the policy will directly affect tens of thousands of households, so the Government should proceed with caution and after comprehensive consideration.
It is commendable that the legislation does not seek to impose a blanket prohibition. Decent SDUs that are small and self-contained can indeed provide an alternative housing choice for groups such as the working class, students, and small families, serving a specific social function. However, most SDUs in the market are below-par. Hopefully, the introduction of regulation can improve the situation or even eradicate SDUs in the long run.
When implementing the Basic Housing Units (“BHU”) policy, the Government should also launch support measures in parallel, so as to avoid the situation of tenants being evicted first before rehousing. During a visit conducted by the Subcommittee on Issues Relating to Transitional Housing and Subdivided Units of the Legislative Council to SDU households in Yau Ma Tei and To Kwa Wan, I noticed that many families encountered difficulties due to a lack of information transparency and inadequate policy support. In this regard, I suggest that the Government should leverage big data technology to establish a comprehensive and dynamic database on the needs of SDU households. Through data sharing among the Housing Department, the Social Welfare Department and other relevant departments, precise analysis can be conducted to ensure that every support measure tailored for SDU households is targeted and effective.
Insofar as housing for the affected households during the improvement process is concerned, the Administration has advised that appropriate relocation assistance would be provided by the relevant District Service Teams (“DSTs”) where necessary. That aside, I think the Bureau can consider collaborating with non-governmental organizations to set up short-term shelter centres, ensuring that households of special cases not taken care of otherwise will not become homeless.
To ensure the effective and smooth implementation of BHU alteration works, I also suggest that the Government should consider collaborating with the financial and construction sectors to provide appropriate financial and technical support to the landlords concerned. Hopefully, it can help speed up the pace of improvement and mitigate the risk of alteration costs being passed onto tenants.
I express support for the Government’s plan to create a new “Category C tenant” for transitional housing (“TH”), which I believe can effectively expand the coverage of TH to provide necessary protection for SDU tenants during the regulatory transition period. Before implementation of the relevant policy, the Government should promptly ensure that DSTs can accurately grasp the number of potential applicants and provide DSTs with detailed information on application procedures and assessment criteria so that they can assist in evaluating the economic condition of households and provide guidance, formulate specific transition plans within the two-year tenancy period, etc., to promptly resolve any potential obstacles in application.
Currently, most developed regions have established comprehensive regulatory regimes for SDUs, and Hong Kong should keep pace with them. Taking some long-term rental platforms in the Mainland as an example, the quality of rental units has been significantly enhanced through standardized certification systems. In terms of regulation, the Government could, on the one hand, launch a dedicated channel for reporting inadequate SDUs by making reference to the existing reporting mechanism for public rental housing (“PRH”). On the other hand, the Government could develop a database of registered and compliant BHUs for public inspection, so as to eradicate substandard SDUs by leveraging market forces. Notwithstanding the Administration’s plan to enhance certification by professionals, it will take much longer time to achieve comprehensive coverage if we can only rely on the limited manpower resources of government departments to conduct inspections. Only by introducing a social co-governance mechanism can regulatory efficiency be substantially enhanced.
At present, about 20% of SDU households might have fulfilled the eligibility for PRH application, but they have not submitted applications for various reasons, such as “not knowing how to apply”, “worried about the complex application procedures” or “worried that the location of PRH being inconvenient”. Therefore, the Government should collaborate with volunteer organizations in the community to strengthen promotion and publicity of the PRH policy through diverse channels, and assist eligible households to submit applications smoothly. Only through the dual track of improving the existing environment and promoting the turnover of PRH units can the housing ladder for grass roots be truly improved, while ensuring more effective use of housing resources.
Although no “initial rent” for BHUs has been set by the Bill, the Administration should duly address the problem of potential rent increases during the transition period. At the Bills Committee, Secretary Winnie HO has repeatedly emphasized that the regulatory measures will not push up rents. However, compared with the more market-oriented private residential housing, the SDU market, given the long waiting time for PRH and high rental of private housing, effectively gives owners absolute pricing power. To prevent landlords from passing the costs of alteration and recognition onto tenants, I suggest that the Government should, while promoting hardware standards and regulation, introduce complementary measure where necessary in the form of regional temporary rent control for ultra-small flats, particularly by setting a cap on rent increases of flats in districts affected by the implementation of regulation, ensuring effective safeguard for the rights and interests of grass-roots tenants.
President, “O where could I find an ample manse, a thousand myriad rooms, that shelter all world’s poor gentles and make them all smile? That wind and rain cannot shiver, safe-sheltering as an alp?” This is not only the aspiration of the poet DU Fu, but also that of all families enduring a long wait for PRH while living in inadequate environment. I hope the Government will continue to adopt a multi-pronged approach to expeditiously wipe out all substandard dwellings in this modern city.
I so submit.