‘Better than expected’: 73,800 subdivided flats apply for 3-year grace period
Por Lo Hoi-ying — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement Hong Kong housing Hong Kong Society ‘Better than expected’: 73,800 subdivided flats apply for 3-year grace period
Landlords who applied between March and August qualified for a waiver of HK$3,000 in recognition fees per subdivided flat until February 2029
2 -MIN READ 2 -MIN Listen
Lo Hoi-ying Published: 2:26pm, 3 Oct 2026
More than 73,000 subdivided flats in Hong Kong have applied for a three-year grace period to meet the government’s minimum standards, a figure the housing chief has described as “better than expected”.
Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said on Saturday that authorities received around 73,800 applications during the “early bird” registration phase under the Basic Housing Unit Ordinance, which closed on August 31.
The tally represented nearly 70 per cent of the city’s estimated 110,000 subdivided flats, with 42 already certified as compliant, Ho told a radio programme.
“The progress is better than I expected,” she said. “We expect that as we gradually enter the three-year grace period, as people become familiar with the certification process and find suitable renovation companies and professionals to handle it, the certification numbers will rise.”
Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:00 00:00 1x AI-generated voice
