Following is a question by Dr Hon Lam Tai-fai and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, in the Legislative Council today (October 24):
Question:
In his election manifesto, the Chief Executive (CE) promised to increase the manpower to conduct a comprehensive survey on sub-divisions of flat units (commonly known as "sub-divided units"), bedspace apartments (commonly known as "caged homes") and cubicle apartments, set appropriate safety and hygiene standards as well as formulate long-term policies to solve the problem comprehensively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has adopted definitions for sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments; if it has, of the respective definitions; if not, the reasons for that;
(b) whether the current numbers of unauthorised sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments in Hong Kong, as well as the numbers of households living in these three categories of residential units, are available; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(c) of the respective numbers of law enforcement actions (including those completed or otherwise) taken by the authorities against owners of unauthorised sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by type of law enforcement actions, including issuing removal orders and instituting prosecution;
(d) of the time the authorities had allowed owners for rectifying unauthorised building works in the cases in (c), with a breakdown by type of law enforcement actions, and whether plans are in place to shorten such time so as to eliminate expeditiously the risks brought about by unauthorised building works;
(e) among the cases in (c), of the numbers of cases in which problems with unauthorised building works had not been resolved upon expiry of the specific deadlines, with a breakdown by type of law enforcement actions, including issuing removal orders and instituting prosecution;
(f) of the respective numbers of cases in which warning letters regarding unauthorised sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments had been registered by the authorities at the Land Registry (commonly known as "imposing an encumbrance") in each of the past five years;
(g) whether plans are in place to increase the penalty against property owners of unauthorised sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments and people who rent out such properties; if so, of the details, if not, the reasons for that;
(h) how the authorities will conduct a comprehensive survey on the living conditions in sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments, etc.;
(i) of the new measures and plans the authorities have in place to improve the fire safety, hygiene and law and order of sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments;
(j) given that the Buildings Department has started inspection actions targeting at safety problems of sub-divided units since April 2011, of the total number of sub-divided units inspected so far, with a breakdown by district and type of buildings;
(k) of the respective numbers of reports of accidents or incidents received by the authorities in relation to sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments in each of the past five years, and the respective statistics on the casualties and loss of property involved, with a breakdown by type of accidents or incidents;
(l) of the details of the appropriate safety and hygiene standards mentioned by CE;
(m) of the time to start and finish drawing up the appropriate safety and hygiene standards, as well as setting long-term policies to solve the problem comprehensively; and
(n) whether any work indicators, objectives and timeframe have been drawn up for tackling the problem of unauthorised sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In recent years, the building and fire safety problems associated with subdivided flats have become a subject of public concern. However, there are also views in the community that such flats have an existence value as they could provide affordable accommodation to low income groups who are not eligible or are waitlisted for public rental housing but wish to live in the urban area close to their place of work and/or to their children's place of study. Therefore, the Government's policy is not to eradicate all subdivided flats but to ensure their safety.
To this end, the Buildings Department (BD) has since April 2011 launched a large scale operation (LSO) aimed at rectifying irregularities of building works associated with subdivided flats. In addition, the Government has amended the regulation this year to include building works commonly associated with subdivided flats under the Minor Works Control System, so that these works would be required to be carried out by qualified professionals and contractors, thereby ensuring the quality of the works and minimising the safety and sanitation problems associated with subdivided flats. The BD has also stepped up its public education and publicity efforts to remind members of the public about building safety problems that can result from improper flat subdivision works.
For bedspace apartments (commonly known as "caged homes"), according to the extant laws of Hong Kong, operation of bedspace apartments is under the regulation of the Bedspace Apartments Ordinance (Cap 447) (BAO). To ensure the safety of occupants and other users of the premises, any premises with a mode of operation falling within the interpretation of "bedspace apartments" under the BAO must obtain a licence before operation.
My reply to different parts of the question is as follows:
(a) "Subdivided units" are not defined in the Buildings Ordinance (Cap 123) (BO). The term is commonly used in the community when referring to cases where a domestic unit is subdivided into two or more smaller self-contained units for sale or for rental. Each of these smaller units usually has its own toilet. Some even have their own cooking places. Subdividing a unit often involves demolishing existing partition walls and erecting new ones, laying additional electrical wirings, altering or expanding the water supply and drainage system within the unit for the additional toilets, and raising the floor slab to embed the added or diverted pipes etc.
"Cubicle apartments" are not defined in the BO either. They are generally understood to be wooden cubicles of simple construction commonly found in tenement buildings completed in the 1950s and 1960s, enabling a unit to accommodate more than one tenant or sub-tenant. Openings are usually left at the top of the wooden partitions for ventilation and light borrowing. Without their own toilets and cooking places, tenants of the cubicles have to share the toilet and kitchen present in the unit concerned.
"Caged homes" are commonly known as bedspace apartments and the term is not defined in the BAO. According to the extant laws of Hong Kong, operation of bedspace apartments is under the regulation of the BAO. Under the BAO, a "bedspace apartment" means any flat in which there are 12 or more bedspaces used as sleeping accommodation for individuals under rental agreements. The purpose of the BAO is to ascertain that the premises intended to be used as bedspace apartments comply with structural and fire safety standard as well as the requirements on sanitary configuration, so as to ensure the safety of occupants and other users of the premises.
(b) The departments concerned have no records on the numbers of unauthorised subdivided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments in Hong Kong, as well as the numbers of households living therein.
(c) and (e) The BD has been issuing removal orders against unauthorised building works in subdivisions of flat units, but has not categorised such units into subdivided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments. Among the orders issued from 2007 to September 30, 2012, prosecutions have been instituted on 41 orders. The enforcement figures in the past five years are shown in Annex 1.
On the other hand, the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) under the Home Affairs Department is responsible for the enforcement of the BAO. It is tasked with the issue of bedspace apartment licences and relevant enforcement work.
It is a criminal offence to operate bedspace apartments illegally. During the past five years, the OLA instituted prosecution actions against two cases of suspected operation of unlicensed bedspace apartments. Those involved in the cases were convicted in court with a fine of $3,000 and $9,740 respectively. However, the OLA has not received any complaints against the violation of the licensing conditions of bedspace apartments or instituted any prosecution in this regard.
(d) Where unauthorised building works are being or have been carried out, the BD may issue orders according to the BO requiring the owner to demolish or rectify the building works concerned. Generally, 60 days are given for compliance. In addition, if the Building Authority (BA) is of the view that there is an emergency, the BA may make arrangements to carry out the works concerned or take other actions.
(f) The BD normally does not register warning letters issued during enforcement actions at the Land Registry (commonly known as "imposing an encumbrance"). According to the BO, the BA may upon the service of an order, cause the order to be registered in the Land Registry against the related land or premises. The 527 orders issued during the period from January 2007 to September 2012 are already registered at the Land Registry.
(g) According to the BO, carrying out building works without approval is a serious offence and shall be liable for conviction to imprisonment for two years and a fine of $400,000. Any person who carries out or has carried out building works in such a manner that it causes injury or likely to cause a risk of injury to any person or damage to any property shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on conviction to imprisonment for three years and to a fine of $1,000,000.
Where the buildings works (including addition and alteration) have been or are being carried out in contravention of the BO, the BD may issue an order requiring the owner to demolish or rectify the building works concerned. If the order is not complied with within a specified period of time, the BD may carry out the works concerned through government contractors and the costs of the works, together with supervision and additional charges, shall be recoverable fully from the owner. The BD may also institute prosecution under the BO against the owner. The convicted person shall be liable to a fine of $200,000 and to imprisonment for one year.
Whether the property is for rental is not a factor in considering the legality of the building works under the BO.
In addition, as mentioned above, unlawful operation of a bedspace apartment is a criminal offence. According to Section 5 of the BAO, any person who is convicted of operating an unlicensed bedspace apartment is liable to a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for two years, and a further fine of $20,000 for each day during which the offence has continued. According to Section 33 of the BAO, a bedspace apartment licensee who contravenes the licensing conditions is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for one year upon conviction, and a further fine of $10,000 for each day during which the offence has continued.
(h) to (j) and (l) to (n) Apart from carrying out investigation in response to reports on sub-divided flats from members of the public and taking appropriate enforcement actions according to the current enforcement policy, the BD has since April 2011 launched an LSO aimed at rectifying irregularities of building works associated with subdivided flats. Since April 2012, BD has enhanced the LSO by increasing the annual number of target buildings from 150 to 200. From April 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012, the BD has inspected 2,581 sub-divided flat units. For a breakdown by districts and types of buildings, please refer to Annex 2.
In addition, the Government has enhanced its regulation over building works associated with sub-divided flats. The Building (Minor Works)(Amendment) Regulation 2012, which came into effect on October 3, 2012, has included building works associated with subdivided flats under the Minor Works Control System, so that these works would be required to be carried out by qualified professionals and contractors. These works should not be carried out in contravention of the regulations under the BO (which specify the building design and construction standards in such aspects as fire safety, structural safety and drainage works). The BD will also carry out random inspection on completed works to further ensure their quality, thereby minimising the safety and sanitation problems associated with subdivided flats.
On the other hand, upon receipt of an application for a bedspace apartment licence, staff of the OLA will conduct an on-site inspection of the premises. Conditions of building structure and fire safety of the premises will be assessed and examined in accordance with the BO and the Fire Services Ordinance (Cap 95). The OLA shall ascertain that the premises concerned comply with the safety standards as provided in the relevant ordinances before issuing a licence to the applicant under the BAO. In addition, upon receipt of a licence renewal application, staff of the OLA will also conduct an inspection. Licences will only be renewed pursuant to the BAO if compliance with the licensing requirements is ascertained.
(k) The departments concerned have no statistics of accidents and incidents related to subdivided flats, bedspace apartments and cubicle apartments.
Ends/Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Issued at HKT 16:12
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