11,000 subdivided units registered under 3-year grace period system as Hong Kong seeks to regulate shoebox flats

Around 11,000 subdivided units have been registered under a grace period system that will give landlords three years to ensure their properties meet new government requirements for the city’s infamous substandard housing.

A subdivided unit in Tsim Sha Tsui in 2025. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Victor Tai, the under secretary for housing, said on Tuesday in a briefing session with selected media outlets that as of Tuesday, around 3,000 flats – totaling 11,000 subdivided units – had been registered, NowTV reported.

Under the Basic Housing Units Ordinance, which came into effect in March, subdivided units are required to meet government-set living standards. These include a floor space of at least 86 square feet, a ceiling height of 2.3 metres, as well as a window and an individual toilet.

Units that pass those requirements will be known as “basic housing units.”

From now until February 2027, the government is allowing landlords to apply for a three-year grace period to give them time to get their subdivided units up to standard.

Elderly people live a subdivided flat on February 8. 2025. Photo: James Lee/HKFP.

Operators whose subdivided units already meet requirements have been able to apply for recognition as basic housing units since March 1. Tai said that so far, four applications have been made.

Renovations

The Housing Bureau said it had converted two subdivided units in Kowloon City into examples of basic housing units to guide subdivided unit operators on how to upgrade their flats.

Tai said the fee for renovating a substandard shoebox unit to meet requirements ranges from HK$25,000 to HK$50,000, while the cost for renovating an entire flat comprising several subdivided units was between HK$140,000 and HK$160,000, according to the Housing Bureau.

He said that for a three-unit model flat, the work involved removing the toilet of one of the units so that the space for another unit could be expanded, and then re-installing a new toilet.

In addition, installed toilet exhaust fans and routing drainage pipes to the outdoors were also fitted.

Under Secretary for Housing, Mr Victor Tai Sheung-shing. Photo: GovHK.

When asked by local media whether operators of subdivided units might transfer such costs to tenants, therefore increasing their rent, Tai said that would be up to the landlords.

The official said that just like with running any business, there are costs involved in operating subdivided units, but that he believed landlords could earn back those costs within a few months of converting the homes into basic housing units.

Subdivided unit operators are required to hire a registered surveyor or architect to certify that the flats meet the government’s requirements.

Earlier in March, the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors estimated that operators will have to spend at least HK$15,000 to have a flat with up to four subdivided units certified.