7sqm per person minimum call on subdivided flats

The living space per person in a subdivided flat should not be less than seven square meters, the Society for Community Organization proposed ahead of the first meeting of the government's Task Force on Tackling the Issue of Subdivided Units this week.

SoCO said it needed to define"low quality" subdivided flats better with supporting measures, such as resettlement policies and rent control before the abolition of such housing units.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced in his policy address last Wednesday that a Task Force on Tackling the Issue of Subdivided Units will be set up. It will be led by Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun, with Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin as deputy.

The task force will recommend in 10 months' time ways of setting minimum standards for living conditions connected to building safety, fire safety, hygiene requirements and living space.

Wong said it plans to hold its first meeting this week.

SoCO yesterday said residents of subdivided flats have mixed feelings about the policy.

They are happy to know there will be a blueprint regarding the issue, while they also are concerned about whether there will be a well-established rehousing agenda provided by the government.

"If their units are closed and there is no rehousing, they will have nowhere to go," the group's deputy director, Sze Lai-shan, said.

"Residents are afraid that they will become homeless and are worried that they will need to move to other more expensive, or even illegal flats, just like what happened in the 1990s when the Bedspace Apartments Ordinance came into effect."

As stated in the Bedspace Apartments Ordinance, any rental apartments of more than 12 bedspaces will have to apply for a license from the Office of the Licensing Authority before commencing.

Hundreds of residents moved to dormitories of singles, with many others moving from closed bedspace apartments to illegal ones.

There was no improvements in their living environment.

SoCO urged the government to set up a "minimum housing standard" for subdivided flats by defining what is considered "low-quality."

The standard could include nine criteria, such as flat size, rental price, the maximum number of households per flat and ventilation.

If a flat fails to meet three of the nine criteria, it should be closed.