New community living room opens in Shau Kei Wan to support the needy

Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki officiated the opening ceremony of the Shau Kei Wan Community Living Room, a space aimed at providing people living in cramped, small units with more room to do their chores, rest and socialize.

It is the first of its kind on Hong Kong Island and the fifth across the city.

Chan said the Shau Kei Wan site, spanning 2,700 square feet, is expected to serve 330 households residing in subdivided flats and can accommodate 50,000 visits annually.

He revealed another space would open on Ko Shan Road, with three new sites in Prince Edward, Sham Shui Po and Kowloon City.

Together with the existing ones, there will be nine community living rooms, serving 4,000 subdivided flat households and accommodating over 600,000 visits annually.

In response to the government plans to prevent landlords of subdivided flats from renewing rental contracts that are set to expire within three years until the unit is renovated to meet the requirements of Basic Housing Units, Chan said the regulation aims to ensure citizens have an adequate living environment. 

He stressed the government will not render residents living in subdivided flat homeless, which is “against the intention of the policy”.