Housing Authority aims to empty two buildings of Wah Fu (I) Estate by summer 2027

Authorities are aiming to empty Wah On House and Wah Lok House by July 2027 for the first phase of the redevelopment of over 50-year-old Wah Fu (I) Estate, while affected residents will receive a special removal allowance of up to HK$31,910. 

Cleresa Wong Pie-yue, chairwoman of the Housing Authority Subsidized Housing Committee, said on Thursday that some 895 affected tenants from 911 units will be relocated to some 1,208 units of the public housing project on Wah King Street. 

Wong continued that the Wah King Street project has enough flats to accommodate all affected tenants and tenants can split into two or more households if necessary. 

Depending on the household sizes, all affected tenants will be offered a Domestic Removal Allowance ranging from HK$10,030 to HK$31,910. 

One-person and two-person households may also opt to receive a Singleton or Doubleton Allowance (SA/DA) in lieu of rehousing to a public rental housing unit at HK$78,530 and HK$95,790 respectively. 

Wong noticed that there are some 180 elderly tenants from the two buildings and the HA has established a community service team to see if they have any special needs or suffer from anxiety and to provide relevant assistance. 

In today’s meeting, the committee also approved that eligible commercial tenants under fixed-term tenancies paying market rent will be offered an ex-gratia allowance. 

The amount will be equivalent to 15 times the monthly rent as specified in the tenancy agreement, applicable on the date of the formal announcement of the clearance exercise. 

Sources said all 23 affected commercial tenants are eligible for the allowance. 

“The anticipated intake date of the Wah King Street site will be advanced from 2027 to 2026 for rehousing tenants of Wah On House and Wah Lok House; the anticipated intake date of Wah Lok Path site in 2027 to 2028 will remain unchanged,” a spokesman for the HA said. 

The HA added that the anticipated intake date of the Wah Fu North site will be postponed from the second half of 2028 to the first half of 2030, citing “an unforeseen underground condition and technical difficulties”. 

“It was identified during the construction stage that the rock head level was considerably higher than the design level adopted for the foundation design, the site formation and the project design were therefore required to be revised to reduce the amount of extra rock excavation,” the spokesman said.