Three years' jail, $300,000 fine pushed for substandard flats

Cheng Wong

Landlords of substandard basic housing units may face up to three years in prison and HK$300,000 in fines, according to proposals in the Housing Bureau's consultation paper.

Authorities plan to brief the Legislative Council in the first half next year on the final proposals for the regulatory mechanism, move the bill through the legislature within the year, and start registering subdivided flats by the fourth quarter.

In the consultation paper tabled at Legco's housing panel, the bureau said landlords would bear criminal responsibility for renting out substandard subdivided flats.

These include those without government certification as basic housing units, which must be at least eight square meters in floor area and 2.3m in height as well as having at least one window and an exhaust fan.

Landlords who rent out flats that initially obtained certification but later fail to meet minimum requirements will also be criminally liable.

Providing false information or representation may incur a maximum fine of HK$10,000 and three months in jail.

According to the paper, there are currently around 110,000 subdivided units in Hong Kong involving about 220,000 residents. Around 30 percent require large-scale reconstruction to meet basic requirements.

Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Bill Tang Ka-piu said the penalties are appropriate. He added: "If landlords continue to take risks that disregard tenant safety and rights, there needs to be a certain level of deterrent penalties."

Ryan Ip Man-ki, co-head of Public Policy Institute at Our Hong Kong Foundation, said many subdivided units are located in densely populated and aging buildings, where poor environmental conditions severely limit the feasibility and effectiveness of renovations. He urged authorities to accelerate urban redevelopment to support the regulatory mechanism.

But Hong Kong Owners Club chair Diamond Shea Hing-wan said many landlords estimate that their renovation costs for each underqualified unit would be HK$150,000 to HK$180,000, which may cause some to abandon the market as rents may not cover these expenses.

He said some up-to-standard flats have monthly rents of HK$7,000 but once legislation is passed, these could increase to between HK$8,000 and HK$9,000.

cheng.wong@singtaonewscorp.com