Hong Kong passes Bill to ban ‘cage homes’

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong’s lawmakers have passed a Bill to phase out substandard tiny residential units, as the government moves to address Beijing’s call to improve the city’s living conditions.

Under the new Bill passed on Friday (Sep 26), so-called subdivided apartments must be at least 8 square metres and equipped with a separate bathroom, fire safety facilities, lighting and ventilation.

The crackdown follows concerns raised by Beijing over the city’s so-called “cage homes,” or tiny units, often rented to the poor. While the measures aim to improve living standards, groups serving the underprivileged in Hong Kong have warned the moves could drive up rents for low-cost housing and the supply of these affordable units may likely shrink.

Hong Kong’s years-long property downturn has done little to ease affordability for the poorest segment of its population. The elderly, new immigrants and young workers often rely on subdivided units. The median income of tenants surveyed was HK$7,200 (S$1,197) per month, while the median rent for a subdivided unit was HK$4,500, according to a March report by the Society for Community Organization in Hong Kong, a non-government organisation.

More than 200,000 people live in about 110,000 subdivided units in Hong Kong, according to government data. Authorities will let landlords register their current properties from March, while providing a grace period for them later to carry out the necessary upgrades to meet the new standards, according to the Bill. BLOOMBERG