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Written by: Zhang Jiamin
2021-03-31 20:29
Last update date: 2021-03-31 20:30
The government has appointed a working group on the control of subdivided housing to study the feasibility of implementing control of subdivided housing.
The team submitted its final report to the government today (31st).
The group recommends that a "standard tenancy agreement" with mandatory clauses should be formulated, in which the rent increase should not exceed the percentage of the two-year change in the private residential rent index of the Evaluation Department, and a 15% capping mechanism, but it is not recommended to set a starting rent.
Some tenants claim that rents now account for 80% of their income. They criticized the 15% rent increase ceiling recommended by the panel for being too high, believing that the measures are biased towards the landlords, "as if they don’t know that the tenants are suffering." He worries that before the formal implementation of rent control, The landlord will increase the rent first.
Ms. Zhou currently lives in a sub-divided unit in Ngau Tau Kok. She lives in a unit less than 100 square feet with her 5-year-old son. The monthly lease is about RMB 4,800.
She moved into her current unit more than a year ago. The two-year lease will expire in September this year. She frankly worried that the landlord will increase the rent. She was able to find a part-time job, and the rent accounted for about 80% of her income. She used to live in a squatter and had to move out due to demolition. She admitted that it was very difficult to relocate many times.
The sub-household approval team recommends "not spicy enough"
Regarding the subdivided housing team’s proposed maximum rent increase of 15%, Ms. Zhou believes that the upper limit is too high, and worried that if the initial rent is not set, the landlord will increase the rent first.
She said that the maximum acceptable limit for the increase is 5%, otherwise it will be necessary to relocate to a worse-off sub-district unit, such as an industrial building.
She believes that the group’s recommendation is "not spicy enough", which still makes the tenants more passive and biased towards the landlord. "It is all about seeing the landlord’s unconscience... as if not knowing that the tenants are suffering." She pointed out that instead of launching rent control, More financial support should be provided to the grassroots.
Residents: You can only afford an increase of 200 yuan
Another subdivided tenant, Ms. Cheng, has a family of three currently living in a subdivided unit of about 180 square feet, with a monthly rent of about 7,000 yuan.
The lease expired in May. Although the landlord verbally promised not to increase the rent, she was still worried that the rent might be increased. "The landlord always has the right to do everything." She pointed out that if the landlord increases the rent, she can only afford 200 yuan. The increase is about 3%.
She believes that the group’s recommendations are too rigid, fail to take into account the needs of the tenants, and are unfair to the landlords.
She took the rent increase limit as an example. If the landlord’s rent increase is not appropriate under the epidemic, “(the epidemic) will have no return to work.” She believes that it is necessary to “watch the food and eat” and adjust according to the price level and other indexes.
Leung Wing-hsiung released the report of the working group, stating that the standard lease agreement for sub-divided housing should be regulated, and the rent increase should not be higher than 15%, and the rate of change in the private residential building rent index of the Department of Valuation must be referred to.
(Photo by Luo Junhao)
According to the group’s recommendations, a "standard tenancy agreement" with mandatory clauses should be formulated, and it is mandatory for the landlord to sign the relevant tenancy agreement with the tenant.
It will be stated in the lease agreement that the lease term is fixed for two years, and the rent cannot be increased during the lease term, but the rent can be reduced.
The tenant also has the right to renew the lease once, thereby obtaining a "2+2" four-year lease.
After completing the first two years of the lease, the group recommends that the rent can be increased once when the lease is renewed, and the increase should not exceed the percentage change of the private residential rent index of the Evaluation Department, and a 15% capping mechanism will be set up.
When the percentage change is negative, the rent has to be reduced in the same way.
As for the initial rent that has been advocated by various groups, the chairman of the working group, Leung Wing-hsiang, pointed out that if "tilting too much" to tenants would affect the supply, he said that he would observe the implementation of rent control first, but said that he did not want to "increasingly".
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Sub-House Transportation and Housing Bureau
