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Alice Wu

The Reverend Canon Peter Douglas Koon Ho-ming was blunt when he said, “Once there are no political issues, everything in Hong Kong is a livelihood issue.” He was also correct.
Housing is this city’s biggest livelihood issue. It is also the hardest to tackle by far. The current administration has probably done more in this area than previous ones.
Since Beijing’s top official for Hong Kong affairs Xia Baolong directly called for the eradication of subdivided flats and cage homes in 2021, the government had been forced to deal with its biggest headache: reaching its public housing targets and taking care of those stuck in subdivided flats, many of whom aren’t poor enough to qualify for public housing.
Even if they do qualify, the waiting period is long. For families with young children, this means they’re stuck in these shoebox-sized living spaces while their children grow.
Fortunately for the government, Xia set a deadline of 2049, well down the line. Even with that distant deadline, something had to be done quickly unless the administration wanted to risk being seen as dawdling even after Xia’s ultimatum. First came the quick fix of introducing certification and standards to meet. With that system in place, certified subdivided homes will be officially called “basic housing units”.
Removing the problem of subdivided flats was never going to be simple. The government had to first determine the basic standards for living spaces and weigh them against its ability to take care of displaced families. It cannot crack down on the horrendous living conditions all at once without sending struggling families into the streets.


In that regard, it did the right thing by offering a small number of transitional housing units, also known as light public housing. These modular integrated structures or converted buildings provide short-term, affordable accommodation mainly for those in the queue for public rental housing.
The government’s partners in the Legislative Council were supportive, swiftly passing the Basic Housing Units Ordinance, which took effect on March 1. The requirements for basic housing units are minimal: at least 8 square metres (86 sq ft), ceiling height of at least 2.3 metres (7.5 feet), a window, a waterproof toilet and other safety, hygiene and fire safety requirements.
By government estimates, 70 per cent of the 110,000 subdivided flats require only minor rectifications to meet these requirements. That means 70 per cent of the units the central government’s top representative in Hong Kong demanded be eradicated are considered liveable and only need minor tinkering.

The government is also allowing landlords of subdivided homes to apply for a three-year grace period before next February, giving them until 2030 to meet these bare minimum standards. Landlords are jumping at the opportunity, and only four applications for certification approval have been received so far.
The lack of affordable housing is at the core of Hong Kong’s housing problem. This administration has tried to shorten the waiting time for those queuing for public housing flats. Some are waiting while crammed into subdivided flats. While the introduction of light public housing has helped, the waiting time for standard public rental housing has unfortunately remained stubbornly unchanged at 5.6 years, according to government data released earlier this month.
Going by the toll the unresolved housing problem has taken on affected Hongkongers, lofty pronouncements measured in decades are doing little for them. A recent study found that two-thirds of respondents in subdivided housing showed signs of anxiety and 40 per cent had signs of depression. Several respondents reported suffering trauma from cramped living conditions, parental stress and a lack of social support.
Safety is also an issue. There have been fires in subdivided flats in recent years; the most recent claimed one life and left four injured last week.


The cramped living conditions they face will not be improved any time soon, and the government must reckon with the effects of the time these Hongkongers spend there. Children are growing up in a space that is short on square footage but offers abundant psychological trauma. This is the kind of pain struggling Hongkongers have to face every day while landlords take their time making required upgrades and the government relies on the Northern Metropolis to clear public housing queues.
The good news is that social services and targeted counselling programmes can help, but the resources available to the needy are dwindling as the government slashes social welfare funding. The social costs and subsequent burden of inaction will only increase. It is essential that the government attends to the trauma inflicted on people who lack a proper place to live – which remains Hong Kong’s biggest livelihood issue.


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Hong Kong housing

Hong Kong housing: small shoebox flat wins not enough to fix big issues

A woman tends to her daughter in their subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po on September 16, 2025. Photo: Sam Tsang

The toilet area of a flat on Nga Tsin Long Road in Kowloon City, seen on May 19, which the government made minimal rectifications to so that it could serve as a sample for basic housing units. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Anxiety, depression plague up to 66% of Hong Kong subdivided flat tenants: NGO

As many as two-thirds of 158 subdivided housing tenants supported by an NGO in Hong Kong have shown signs of anxiety or depression. Photo: Sun Yeung

According to the NGO survey, 66 per cent of respondents show signs of anxiety. Photo: Karma Lo

Miko Yu and her family have moved into transitional housing. Photo: Karma Lo

Only 4 of Hong Kong’s 110,000 subdivided homes put up for seal of approval

Undersecretary for Housing Victor Tai (centre) with principal assistant secretary for housing Jason Chan (left) and Thomas Lo, the Housing Bureau's maintenance surveyor for subdivided flats, at a press briefing. Photo: Nora Tam

The Housing Bureau carried out minimal rectifications on a flat on Kai Tak Road in Kowloon City to serve as a sample for basic housing units. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

35 families in Hong Kong shoebox flats face eviction since start of new rule

An elderly tenant in his subdivided flat at Yee Wa Building in Cheung Sha Wan. Housing authorities say 40 households that faced evictions last year are still living there. Photo: Eugene Lee

Yee Wa Building in Cheung Sha Wan. District service teams approached about 150 affected families in the building, including 110 households that have since moved out. Photo: Eugene Lee

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While the current administration has made strides on the housing front, the wait for a proper place to live is harming Hongkongers’ mental health


While the current administration has made strides on the housing front, the wait for a proper place to live is harming Hongkongers’ mental health.


Hong Kong society

5050

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Hong Kong housing: small shoebox flat wins not enough to fix big issues

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}While the current administration has made strides on the housing front, the wait for a proper place to live is harming Hongkongers’ mental health

While the current administration has made strides on the housing front, the wait for a proper place to live is harming Hongkongers’ mental health