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Hong Kong residents say housing crackdown risks worsening overcrowding
A Kwai Tsing family relying on about HK$17,000 a month in government support says rent for subdivided units has been out of reach without subsidies.
In Hong Kong, a single parent, Housewife May, said she was “overjoyed” after moving last September into a 200 sq ft subdivided flat in Kwai Tsing, after years of living in a squatter hut where her children had to climb hundreds of stairs daily, according to SCMP Economy.
May, 50, described her current home as located on the 15th floor of a lift-equipped building, with windows, two partitioned bedrooms, a dining room, a toilet and a kitchen, plus space for a small sofa and dining table to give her school-aged children a dedicated area for homework.
She said the family relies on a monthly government subsidy of around HK$17,000, and that even with that assistance it could only afford rent of HK$8,300, while she previously moved into a smaller 100 sq ft subdivided flat before securing their current place.
The report is framed around whether the city’s push to eliminate substandard subdivided housing is helping residents or causing additional harm, based on the family’s account.