Authorities may consider giving homeowners leeway to declare illegal structures that do not pose immediate safety risks, Hong Kong’s develop minister has said.
Speaking on a Commercial Radio program on Thursday, Bernadette Linn said authorities would consider allowing homeowners to declare minor unauthorised structures such as laundry racks and support brackets for air-conditioners, thus saving them from removal orders.
But she named enclosed balconies as building works that would not be covered under the scaled down enforcement measures.
The measure was part of a “risk-based” policy framework, Linn said, under which authorities would prioritise cases that pose more significant safety risks or environmental hygiene risks.
Under that framework, the government would be able to focus on high-risk illegal structures such as those recently found at Redhill Peninsula – an upmarket housing estate in Tai Tam, where houses were revealed to have been fitted with illegal additions.
Safety risks there came to light after a landslide triggered by record rains uncovered unauthorised basements at two properties in the area. Authorities confirmed later that around 70 of the 85 houses along the seafront level of the estate were found with illegal structures.
“[T]he landslide incident at Redhill Peninsula in September has revealed the safety hazard of detached houses located near the coastal slope and with irregularities,” Linn told lawmakers on Wednesday.
But declaring small structures would not necessarily absolve homeowners, as authorities would follow up on those cases after the structures were declared, Linn said as she revealed the government was looking into the mechanism, which is currently in place in the New Territories.
High-risk structures
Enclosed balconies and illegal structures such as those at the Redhill Peninsula, however, would not be spared. “That’s nothing but a fantasy, the government will definitely crack down [on those cases],” she said.
Under the ordinance, failure to comply with removal orders could result in a maximum fine of HK$200,000 and up to one year in prison if convicted, and a further fine of $20,000 for each day that the removal order is ignored.
Linn also said the government would conduct a “comprehensive review” of the Buildings Ordinance, as stated in last week’s Policy Address, to increase penalties and consider streamlining prosecution procedures. It will put forth recommendations for legislative amendments next year.
Brian Wong of development policy think-tank Liber Research Community told HKFP that homeowners would be incentivised to build illegal structures under the mechanism, which he described as having many grey areas.
“Basements and enclosed balconies can effectively increase the floor area of a unit and increase its property value,” he said.
He also said the government would only be able to readily identify illegal structures on the exterior of buildings, adding that authorities might not be able to account for structures that were not visible, such as basements.
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