************************************************************
The Buildings Department (BD) announced today (December 29) that it will apply for closure orders on March 7, 2012 from the court to close certain floors of Nos 78 and 78A, Larch Street, Kowloon, in order to facilitate Government contractors to demolish the unauthorised building works (UBWs) therein as part of the department's stepped up enforcement action against illegal sub-divided domestic cubicles in industrial buildings.
Notices of intention to apply for closure orders were posted at conspicuous locations of the floors concerned today to notify the owners and those affected. The aim of this operation is to ensure that the premises will no longer be used for domestic purposes, in order to mitigate the risks posed to the occupants.
The six-storey building concerned was issued with an occupation permit in July 1962. According to the approved building plans, the building was intended for industrial use, with godowns on the ground floor and one factory unit on each of the other five floors.
A BD spokesman said that since 2009, the department had received numerous reports from the public and referrals from other Government departments, reporting that some of the floors of the subject building had been illegally altered into multiple sub-divided units. Inspections carried out by BD staff confirmed that UBWs had been erected on the podium flat roof and rooftop of the building. The floor space within these unauthorised structures and certain floors of the building had been partitioned into some 60 sub-divided cubicles used for domestic, instead of industrial, purposes.
"Changing industrial premises to domestic use will pose a serious fire risk to the occupants, while the erection of partition walls will render the fire escape route in the premises inadequate. Stringent enforcement action against such irregularities is warranted to ensure public safety," the spokesman said.
In view of the above, the BD served statutory orders under s24(1) and 25(2)(b) of the Buildings Ordinance (BO) in April 2009, April 2011 and September 2011, requiring the owners of the sub-divided units to discontinue the present domestic use, as well as to demolish the partition walls that affect the fire escape of the premises and the UBWs found on the podium flat roof and roof of the building. Since the owners failed to comply with the orders within the specified period of the orders, the BD will initiate prosecution against them under to the BO.
The BD has also decided to engage Government contractors to demolish the UBWs in accordance with the BO, in order to ensure the safety of the occupants and the public. The BD will apply for closure orders on March 7, 2012 from the District Court to facilitate the demolition works. Notices of intention to apply for closure orders were posted at conspicuous locations of the premises today to inform the affected parties.
"We have scheduled the closure order application for early March such that occupants now living in the subject premises will have more time to relocate with Chinese New Year approaching. However, for their own safety, current occupants should move out of the industrial building as soon as possible. It has always been the Government's policy to ensure that no one will be rendered homeless due to its enforcement action. As such, the BD has arranged with the Housing Department, Social Welfare Department and Home Affairs Department to offer appropriate re-housing and social assistance to the occupants of the affected premises, having regard to their eligibility," the spokesman said.
The spokesman added that in October 2011, the Steering Committee on the Community Care Fund endorsed the programme to provide a one-off relocation allowance to occupants living in sub-divided units in industrial buildings who have to move out as a result of the BD¡¦s enforcement action. This programme, to be operated by the BD, aims to facilitate affected occupants¡¦ early vacation from the concerned sub-divided cubicles. The BD will apply the programme for the first time to occupants of illegal sub-divided domestic cubicles in the industrial building at Nos 78 and 78A, Larch Street. For three consecutive days from December 19, 2011, staff of the BD visited those premises at different times of the day to conduct registration for the occupants affected by the enforcement action, and to assist those eligible to make an application. Eligible occupants whose monthly household incomes are less than the specified income limit or whose families have already passed the household-based means test under specified assistance schemes can apply for the relocation allowance. Successful applicants will normally receive the allowance within four weeks.
However, the spokesman reminded that any person who has successfully applied for the relocation allowance provided by the Community Care Fund would not be eligible for such allowance again. Furthermore, the department will also record the addresses of those industrial buildings with relocation allowance released to the occupants. Other occupants who move in to these addresses in future would also not be eligible for the allowance. Details of the programme have been uploaded to the websites of the Community Care Fund (www.communitycarefund.hk/en/assistance.asp) and the BD (www.bd.gov.hk/chineseT/services/index_RAS.html) for public reference.
The spokesman once again warned owners of industrial buildings against changing their units to domestic use. Furthermore, for their own safety, occupants of such sub-divided units should move out of the units as soon as possible, while others should refrain from living in industrial buildings. Any person who makes rental arrangements should also inquire about the approved intended use of the unit and avoid renting and living in premises only intended for industrial use. To ascertain the approved intended use of the premises, prospective tenants should pay attention to the name and location of the building, the interior design of the premises and as needed, to check the occupation permit, approved building plans and other relevant information about a building through the search services of the Land Registry or the BRAVO system of the BD if they are in doubt.
Finally, to dispel any rumours, the spokesman added that no one displaced by such enforcement actions, including households that have already applied for public rental housing (PRH) via the General Waiting List, would be given an earlier allocation of PRH.
Ends/Thursday, December 29, 2011
Issued at HKT 19:34
NNNN
