The first modular house will be occupied and the road to settle down is still indefinite

01 view

Written by: Commentary Editing Room

2020-08-21 06:45

The Nanchang Street Transitional Housing Project obtained the occupation permit in July this year, and about 200 residents who were waiting for public housing began to move in at the end of August. This is Hong Kong’s first social housing project in the form of modular housing. It took more than two and a half years before and after. Even though the progress of the project is acceptable, from a macro point of view, countless residents of subdivided houses and cubicles are still waiting for the appropriate housing. Transitional housing is always a temporary measure. The government speeds up the construction of public rental housing and implements adequate housing rights.

The project is coordinated by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. It uses assembled buildings to provide 89 units, each with an area ranging from 130 to 293 square feet. The object is for people who have been waiting for public housing for at least three years and are currently living in unsuitable housing. There are about 200 residents in total, and the lease term is two years. Compared with the existing subdivided houses and cubicles, the modular housing units are clean and well organized, and meet the minimum per capita living area requirement of 75 square feet in public housing. The rent is CSSA rent allowance or no more than 25% of the household’s income, thereby improving housing The guest’s living environment reduces his rental expenses. In addition, the operating Tung Wah Group of Hospitals will encourage residents to help each other and build a social support network.

The housing environment has been like a day for decades

The housing standard of 75 square feet is actually very low and does not match the economic development of Hong Kong. One of the evidence is that when Ye Liu Shuyi, a member of the Executive Council and the chairman of the New Democratic Party, visited the unit, she saw a bunk bed in the house and recalled sleeping in the same room with her brother when she was a child, saying that "the environment was already good." In other words, when the per capita GDP has increased by more than 120 times since the 1960s, the housing level at the grassroots level remains the same as it was decades ago. Participating governments, non-governmental organizations, and the business community appreciate that the project embodies the cooperation between the government, business and the people, and solves the urgent needs of the grassroots. In fact, it should be even more embarrassing for the citizens.

Ye Liu Shuyi said on Facebook today that she and her party mate Li Zijing were invited by the Social Council to visit the "Nanchang 220" combined social house. (Ye Liu Shuyi Facebook picture)

The government claims that it is actively seeking land to build houses, and has organized a large number of consultations and forums. However, the land included in the construction of public housing is still in short supply, and the number of units in the future is getting farther and farther than expected. In the 2017 policy address, the government promised to assist non-profit organizations to study the construction of prefabricated modular houses on idle land. Afterwards, the two negotiated with real estate developers to follow the example of foreign countries in launching modular houses and shared flats on the land and units waiting to be rebuilt. Method emergency.

The Nanchang Street project is a pioneer with more than two and a half years of experience. According to the HKCSS, it has experienced twists and turns, including the delay in the construction of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. It is believed that the progress of the project will be shortened to more than one year in the future. Compared with the average construction time of three to four years, the modular housing construction time is shorter, but it cannot be built into a high-rise building, and the number of units that can be built is relatively small. No matter how many modular housing projects, it is only a drop in the bucket.

+2

Be wary of borrowing and donating land to build public housing is the most practical

There is a strong demand for housing in Hong Kong. When suitable land is available to build houses, the government must avoid leaving it idle, and even stop hoarding land. The government is now grateful to real estate developers for "donating land" and "borrowing land" to build transitional housing, which is ironic. More importantly, the community must be more vigilant about transitional housing on agricultural land in the New Territories than in urban areas. The so-called "land donation" may mean that the government is required to fund the construction of infrastructure facilities to reduce the expenditure of real estate developers and thereby increase the value of adjacent land. It may also increase the opportunity for the Town Planning Board to approve the development of adjacent land.

Perhaps real estate developers think that the outside world is treating a gentleman like a villain, but the interests of land are huge, and society must scrutinize every move of land and housing policies. When the people supported the government using the Land Resumption Ordinance to reclaim the land left unused by real estate developers for a long time and reset residential tenancy control, the government did not recruit and only used the "Land Sharing Pilot Program" and the establishment of a tenancy control research working group to respond. I know that the government has no determination to make the people live in peace, solve their plight, and let the people's grievances accumulate. Officials complain that the public only knows how to criticize. Are there any reflections that the government's laziness has caused public grievances?

Don't let sub-divided houses monopolize citizens' housing choices

The government should shake up the rent structure under the epidemic

Electric shock caused tragedy in sub-district houses

The government can flexibly compensate prospective residents of Chunyang Village

Container Modular Housing Policy Long-term Housing Supply Transitional Housing