appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Edith Lin

Retiree Yang Fangxin’s 72 sq ft rooftop home, located on the ninth floor of a 62-year-old building in Sham Shui Po, has become a heat trap under Hong Kong’s scorching hot weather.
The temperature in her home was above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) at around 5pm on Tuesday, higher than the 33 degrees recorded at the Hong Kong Observatory’s monitoring station in the same district.
The temperature in her home only dropped slightly to 37.8 degrees after switching on two fans and an air conditioner.
“The electricity bill will soar if I always switch on the air conditioning … However, I have no choice but to turn it on,” the 68-year-old said.
Yang, who lives with her daughter and a grandchild, pays about HK$650 (US$83) a month for electricity. To save on her bills, she walks around the neighbourhood and rests at a nearby shopping centre or wet market.
She is not alone in suffering under the recent heatwave. Temperatures have generally reached 33 degrees and triggered an ongoing very hot weather warning since last Wednesday morning.
As some low-income residents seek refuge at a government community living room initiative, welfare advocates have urged for the network’s expansion and the provision of an electricity bill subsidy to support subdivided flat tenants amid the heatwave.
The initiative, launched at the end of 2023, aims to provide a communal area, including a gathering space, pantries and laundries, for subdivided flat tenants.
The facilities are operated by NGOs at venues sponsored by the business sector.

Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs, Xia Baolong, attached importance to the scheme as he visited a community living room during a five-day visit to the city in June last year.
So far, the city has 15 community living rooms and another three will be set up by the end of this year.
Homemaker Zhong Linfong and her 14-year-old son, who live in a 120 sq ft subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po, were among those visiting a community living room on Boundary Street.
The pair remain in the air-conditioned facility between 11am and 10pm daily, where they can cook their meals while saving on their utility bills.
Still, their electricity bill is a financial burden on the pair who rely on social security.
“We have to switch on the air-con at home, or it feels like being roasted alive,” Zhong said.
“We only go back to the subdivided home for sleeping. We have to switch on the air-con for about eight hours every night, and it still costs us between HK$500 and HK$800 every month.”
Sze Lai-shan, deputy director of the Society for Community Organisation, a group that supports the underprivileged, said providing electricity bill subsidies for tenants in subdivided flats could help ease their financial burden.
“As the summer is getting hotter, the government can consider a special energy subsidy for subdivided flat tenants,” she said.
Sze added that authorities could work with retailers to buy energy-efficient home appliances for such families, and NGOs could help assess their eligibility and plan their purchases to prevent an abuse of resources.

Chui Wui-chung, who manages the community living room on Fuk Wa Street in the district, said his 4,300 sq ft centre received about 100 individuals daily during the summer and observed that most users stayed at the facility until it closed at 10pm.
“Some do not have air conditioning at their homes and feel stuffy, while others wish to save costs … More users have come to our facility for a shower,” he said.
Chui said the facility still had capacity to handle more families, as the district had three other community living rooms that could help share the demand.
According to a 2021 census, Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po districts have the most subdivided flats in the city.
While Sham Shui Po has 22,400 shoebox flats and is supported by four community living rooms, Yau Tsim Mong – comprising Yau Ma Tei, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok – only had two projects for 26,300 subdivided homes.
Lai Kin-kwok of the Hong Kong Subdivided Flats Concerning Platform said providing electricity bill subsidies and expanding the community living room network could be practical short-term measures to support the low-income class amid the heat.
“Currently, the location and provision of community living rooms are subject to the support from the developers and funders … Some tenants may not have one close to their homes,” he said.
He suggested that the government increase the supply of community living rooms, but smaller, so that tenants could easily access such facilities.
Lai also said the scheme should become a regular social support, as it would take years to eradicate substandard housing under the new regulatory regime launched in March this year.

Under the Basic Housing Units Ordinance, subdivided units should fulfil minimum living and safety standards, such as having at least 86 square feet and a ceiling height of 2.3 metres (7 feet, 7 inches).
From next March, only properties that comply with the standards and are recognised by the government as “basic housing units” can be leased legally on the market.
Landlords can register for a grace period that runs until the end of February 2030 to rectify their properties.
Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said landlords for more than 34,000 subdivided flats had applied for the grace period as of Monday.
Lai of the Hong Kong Subdivided Flats Concerning Platform said: “We doubt whether all the landlords who have applied for the grace period will eventually rectify their properties, as the cost is high and the works can be complicated.
“Subdivided flats are very likely to exist beyond 2030. We will need community living rooms to exist for a long period of time, and the government should plan them well.”


Hong Kong police find no toxic substance in sports drinks initially suspected of making students ill

Hong Kong vows safe Apec meeting with plans for terror and cyberattack threats

Hong Kong’s animal welfare laws fail to meet modern demands, experts say

Debate on dog ownership and control much needed in Hong Kong

Hong Kong society

Hong Kong’s subdivided flats are turning into heat traps. But what’s the fix?

Yang Fangxin is among residents stuck sweltering in subdivided flats. Photo: Dickson Lee

Sze Lai-shan, deputy director of the Society for Community Organisation, has said that providing electricity bill subsidies for tenants in subdivided flats could help ease their financial burden. Photo: May Tse

Yang says she had to switch on two fans and an air conditioner just to bring the temperature down to 37.8 degrees. Photo: Elson Li

Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho has said landlords for more than 34,000 subdivided flats have already applied for a subdivided housing regulatory revamp’s grace period. Photo: Dickson Lee

The city has been in the grip of a heatwave. Photo: Karma Lo

Chui Wui-chung, who manages a community living room, has said his 4,300 sq ft centre receives about 100 individuals daily during the summer. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Extreme heat grips Hong Kong as expert, labour groups urge district-level index

A construction worker shelters under an umbrella in Central. Photo: Karma Lo

Workers take a rest during the extreme heatwave this week. Photo: Sam Tsang

Commissioner for Labour Sam Hui earlier said his department was working with the Observatory to make it easier to trigger higher-tier alerts during extreme heat. Photo: Elson Li

Hong Kong approves first subdivided units meeting basic housing standards

Hayson Chan Hin-hay, chairman of the Hong Kong Basic Housing Units Operators Association, whose three subdivided units in a Sham Shui Po flat have been approved as basic housing units. Photo: Dickson Lee

Interior of a certified basic housing unit meeting minimum standards, including ventilation and fire safety, at Tsung Nga Building in Sham Shui Po. Photo: Dickson Lee

Landlords have until February to apply for a grace period before enforcement begins against uncertified subdivided units next March. Photo: Google map

Calls for faster rehousing of evicted Hong Kong subdivided flat tenants

A tenant surnamed Chan inside his subdivided flat at Yee Wa Building in Cheung Sha Wan. Photo: Eugene Lee

News

Hong Kong

Society

Welfare advocates call on authorities to take action as tenants grapple with steeper energy bills to ward off the heatwave


Welfare advocates call on authorities to take action as tenants grapple with steeper energy bills to ward off the heatwave.


Hong Kong’s subdivided flats are turning into heat traps. But what’s the fix?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Welfare advocates call on authorities to take action as tenants grapple with steeper energy bills to ward off the heatwave

Welfare advocates call on authorities to take action as tenants grapple with steeper energy bills to ward off the heatwave