Hong Kong lawmakers pass bill to ban substandard tiny apartments

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HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong lawmakers passed a bill Friday mandating a minimum size, an exclusive bathroom and other standards in subdivided apartments — a common living arrangement in one of the world’s least affordable cities.

About 220,000 people live in dwellings created by dividing regular apartments, including migrants, workers, students and young professionals. Some of the spaces have a toilet bowl next to the cooking area, no bathroom sink or washroom shared among neighbors.

Beijing, which sees the city’s housing problems as a driver of the 2019 anti-government protests, wants it to phase out subdivided apartments by 2049.

Housing Secretary Winnie Ho said it was painful to see people living in substandard conditions and these sufferings should not occur in Hong Kong.

Legislators passed the bill by a show of hands after hours of debate.

About one-fourth of the city's 110,000 existing subdivided homes are less than 8 square meters (86 square feet), the new minimum size mandated. By comparison, the standard size of a parking space in the city is 10 square meters (110 square feet). The median monthly rent for a unit was 5,000 Hong Kong dollars ($640).

An estimated 33,000 units, or 30% of the existing subdivided apartments, would need major renovations to meet the new requirements, and the others would need simpler improvements.

Among other conditions, each living unit must have at least one openable window, exclusive fire detectors and an enclosed toilet area with a door separating it from the rest of the apartment.

Landlords will have a grace period to renovate substandard homes and eventually can only rent out those that are recognized as meeting the standards. Violations could lead to up to a fine of 300,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $38,500) and three years of imprisonment, along with a daily fine for ongoing offenses.

The authorities planned to roll out a registration scheme next March.

Low-income residents have expressed concerns about their future under the new rules, worrying about a surge in rent and the challenges of finding a new home if their apartments fail to meet the bar.

Ho said she expected the rent would not significantly jump. Some transitional apartments are planned for residents who become uprooted and met eligibility requirements.

About 189,000 public housing units are planned to be built over the next five years.

The policy will not cover smaller dormitory-like “bed spaces." Bed spaces are widely considered to be Hong Kong’s worst form of housing — partitioned areas in which residents get barely enough space to fit a single bed and some belongings. The government says those are regulated under another law.