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Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2021-06-15 17:40
Last update date: 2021-06-15 17:40
Although the squatter area of Mei Foo’s Kau Wah Keng New Village that was demolished last year is now in ruins, there are still more than 100 government-licensed houses in the area.
However, "Hong Kong 01" recently discovered that some licensed houses are suspected of violating license restrictions and suspected of expanding unauthorized construction or renting.
At present, there are two types of houses that do not have ownership rights but exist legally in the New Territories. There are mainly registered squatter houses and licensed houses.
The former refers to squatters that have been registered in 1982, because after the implementation of the squatter control policy in 1982, it is no longer possible to illegally expand squatters and build new squatters on government land or private agricultural land.
Licensed house illegal or normal
As for the licensed house, the Lands Department officially approved the construction of the villagers with a license. Most of the approval reasons were to facilitate the residents to live next to the farm and facilitate the cultivation and care of poultry, or they were approved at the same time as the villagers moved as a collective relocation by the government. For placement.
Licensed housing estates must pay the government a license fee every quarter. Take Jiuhuajing New Village as an example. The government collects only 3 cents per square meter per year for these licensed housing estates, which means that the largest licensed housing estate in the village is 3000 square feet. Only 83 Hong Kong dollars.
Since licensed houses are originally designated for use, they cannot be sold, rented, or expanded at will. Licensed houses in urban areas cannot be rebuilt. Any repairs must be approved by the relevant squatter control office. Can be transferred to immediate family members.
This time, part of the Mei Foo Kau Wah Keng New Village was questioned because some of the licensed houses in the village occupies far more than 400 feet, and some even have back gardens. The reporter visually observed that the area of some licensed houses was close to 2,000 feet. It may have been involved in expansion.
The exterior decoration of its new cluster may also have involved repair works.
In addition, the reporter found on the Internet that there are licensed houses for rent in Jiuhuajing New Village, and various suspected violations are subject to investigation by the relevant authorities.
Kau Wah Keng New Village is adjacent to Lai Yan Court and only 10 minutes away from Mei Foo MTR Station.
(Photo by He Jinkang)
The land administration has been supervised for many years
All kinds of illegal construction and modification problems may have been rooted in the license houses for a long time.
For example, in May last year, Rupert Dover, Assistant Commissioner of the Police, was found to have illegally constructed, expanded, and occupied government land in a licensed house in Clearwater Bay Bishui New Village; even as early as 2004, there had been a The licensed house in Tai Chung Hau Village in Sai Kung was expanded from the originally permitted 62 square meters to 238 square meters. Later, due to the issue of the responsibility of repairing the nearby slopes, disputes between the government and the people arose.
This time another licensed house was found to be illegally constructed or rented out. The government should not only take corresponding enforcement actions, but also reflect on why the problem persisted for many years but still failed to prevent the problem from appearing. The follow-up was discovered and dealt with case by case. The way is worth reviewing.
As early as in the case of Tai Chung Hau Village in Sai Kung in 2004, the head of the household said to the media: "Every house in the village has been built, and some have been expanded, from one house to one village... .." This is not the first time that a licensed house has entered the public eye. It was supposed to be a licensed house for resettlement purposes. If it is expanded into a 3,000-square-foot "luxury house" in the busy city, it is hard to say and policy. In line with the original intent.
Hong Kong's Xiaolanle desalination plant was opened in 1975. It was once the largest in the world. Unfortunately, it was closed after only a few years of use. Part of the land is now a flea market.
(Online picture)
Placement and distribution must be balanced
Mei Foo Kau Wah Keng New Village is only ten minutes away from the MTR station. However, "Kau Wah Keng New Village" has a low residential density, a large area and low annual rent. In Hong Kong, where housing problems are severe, these licensed houses are undoubtedly a kind of resource. mismatch.
To make matters worse, the licensed housing is probably just one example of the waste of land resources in Hong Kong.
Every two years, the Planning Department reviews land that has been designated as a "Comprehensive Development Area" (CDA) for three years or more. However, in the latest research, it was discovered that a piece of Tuen Mun Crown Land (the former Le Arranged Desalination Plant) was in After being rezoned to a "Comprehensive Development Area", it was left idle for 26 years.
When residential buildings such as Langtaowan and Haichengxuan were completed one after another in the neighboring lots, the official land was still a vacant land, becoming one of the land with the longest idle period.
In the earlier research conducted by the local research agency and Greenpeace, the government was again questioned about not having the latest data on brownfields, and even condoning the expansion of brownfields.
The various findings of the media are an important warning to the government, reminding them that Hong Kong is not without land, but the government does not use it.
The housing problem has plagued Hong Kong people for many years, and the government has been discussing land resumption for many years. However, the government does not seem nervous about the misallocation of various land resources—licensed houses are used as luxury residences and official land has been idle for 26 years.
This really disappoints all the people who are waiting for public housing to go upstairs.
After the government has dealt with resettlement issues and urban planning considerations, these precious land resources have been properly used.
Allowing the illegal construction and expansion of licensed housing estates to occur, or even allowing idle government land to sunbathe in the sun, will not help solve the housing needs of the Hong Kong people.
500,000 square feet of official land in Mei Foo's Kau Wah Path can build 4000 public housing, and the annual rent for a 3000-square-foot mansion is only 80 yuan
Many CDA lands in Hong Kong have not been developed and Tuen Mun Linhai Crown Land has been idle for 26 years. Planning Department will review
Government bureaucracy tolerates brownfield expansion
Land Issues Unauthorized Construction 01 Viewpoint