Hong Kong housing chief says 14 subsidised flats registered as 'simple rooms'

Hong Kong's housing chief Ho Wing-yin says 14 Home Ownership Scheme flats have been registered as 'simple rooms', warning that letting such flats without paying land premium is illegal. She says the government will monitor the situation and may consider legislation for non-compliant owners.

Hong Kong's Housing Bureau chief Ho Wing-yin told a Legislative Council housing affairs committee briefing that the response to the 'simple room' registration scheme had been positive, with 73,600 subdivided units having submitted registration applications so far.

Lawmakers raised concerns about Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats being registered as simple rooms, questioning whether subsidised housing should be used for profit. Ho responded that among more than 20,000 residential units registered, only 14 were HOS flats, a very small number, and the authorities would closely monitor the situation.

She reiterated that renting out HOS flats without paying land premium was illegal. Even if the premium had been paid, she said, HOS flats had structural restrictions, such as the commonly used 'integrated kitchen and toilet' layout that could not be removed arbitrarily, and opening windows or ventilation in external walls was also subject to building plan restrictions.

The five-year plan proposed a future 10-year supply ratio of 4:3:3 for rental public housing, subsidised sale housing and private housing. Ho explained that the proportion for the middle-income group had been too light, and the government wanted to gradually increase the share of subsidised sale housing to maintain mobility on the homeownership ladder.

Separately, the deadline for Wang Fuk Court owners to sign sale and purchase agreements expires next Thursday. Lawmakers asked how the authorities would handle affected residents who failed to complete the transaction on time. Ho said the government would be understanding and try to arrange solutions for owners who had genuine intent to complete the deal but faced uncontrollable circumstances such as sudden serious illness. However, she stressed that if owners had no intention to communicate or refused to sign documents, the purchase agreement would be terminated, and the authorities would not rule out handling the matter through legislation in future.