Lawmaker proposes HOS-flat compensation for urban renewal
Bastillepost · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A proposal to overhaul Hong Kong’s urban renewal compensation model has emerged as the government reviews the long-standing “same-district seven-year-old flat” benchmark. Lawmaker Wong Ho-ming suggested affected owners could instead receive a Home Ownership Scheme flat together with a cash allowance, while officials prepare to put forward concrete proposals in the first half of next year.
Key Points
- The Development Bureau is reviewing the “same-district seven-year-old flat” cash acquisition mechanism and the flat-for-flat arrangement with the Urban Renewal Authority, after Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said the current formula is unlikely to remain unchanged.
- Speaking on RTHK’s Millennium programme, Legislative Council real estate and construction sector representative Wong Ho-ming said compensation in To Kwa Wan works out at about HK$15,000 per square foot under the current benchmark, versus a government standard land premium of about HK$6,000.
- Wong argued that many old buildings are already eight to 10 storeys high, so redevelopment often cannot more than double gross floor area, making projects essentially unprofitable under the present compensation approach.
- He proposed offering one Home Ownership Scheme flat plus a cash subsidy, with the cash portion referencing the Urban Renewal Authority’s non-residential compensation basis of current value plus 35 per cent, which he said could both improve residents’ living conditions and leave them with cash in hand.
- Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors president Vincent Wan Wai-ming said the original idea was to let affected households buy a replacement flat, but many urban estates aged 30 to 40 years remain in good condition, prompting questions over whether compensation pegged to a seven-year-old same-district flat is still too generous.
Why It Matters
Any reduction or redesign of compensation would directly affect owners in future redevelopment projects and could alter how quickly old urban districts are renewed. The review also matters for public finances, because Wan said loss-making Urban Renewal Authority projects would ultimately require government subsidy, meaning taxpayers bear the cost of generous acquisitions.