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Following is a question by the Hon Wu Chi-wai, and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (June 19):
Question:
It has been learnt that at present, it is difficult to provide additional communal facilities or alter the existing communal facilities in certain public housing estates (PHEs) because the gross floor areas (GFAs) of those estates have exceeded the relevant planning ceilings, or due to the restrictions imposed by their land lease conditions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) in respect of all the PHEs (including the Tenant Purchase Scheme (TPS) estates) in Hong Kong, of the permitted plot ratios of the sites where these PHEs are situated, as well as the actual plot ratios, GFAs and the floor areas of the communal facilities in these estates respectively as at March 31, 2013 (set out in the table below);
(b) of the procedures (including whether a premium is required to be paid) as well as the vetting and approval criteria for, altering the communal facilities in PHEs according to the types of housing estates i.e. (i) public rental housing estates managed by the Housing Department, (ii) TPS estates, and (iii) PHEs with assets belonging to The Link Real Estate Investment Trust;
(c) of the details (including the names of the PHEs, the facilities involved and their areas, and the reasons for rejecting the applications) of each of the cases in which applications for providing additional communal facilities in PHEs had been rejected by the authorities concerned in the past five years; and
(d) whether the site coverage of the public areas in a PHE is currently capped at a certain percentage of the area of the site; if it is, of the details, and whether covered walkways and sitting-out areas are included in the calculation of site coverage?
Reply:
President,
Land for the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA)'s public rental housing (PRH) developments are allocated by the Government through different modes, including Vesting Orders (VOs), Government leases, etc. The terms and conditions that apply vary depending on the type of allocation.
For a PRH estate handed to the HA under a VO, if the Housing Department (HD) needs to carry out alteration or addition works of the communal facilities, they have to be carried out in accordance with the Buildings Ordinance (BO) and the planning requirements, including the Plot Ratio (PR) restriction applicable to the relevant estate.
For estates with lands granted by Government leases (including Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) estates and PRH estates with divested properties), the HD will need to carry out alteration or addition works of the communal facilities in accordance with the BO, the relevant planning requirements, as well as relevant clauses of the Government leases. In particular, the HD will have to respect lease requirements such as the different use of facilities in the lot and their respective area restrictions, etc. If there is a need for any changes of the relevant lease conditions, the lessees of the lot need to apply to the Lands Department (LandsD) and other relevant departments and pay any premium required.
My reply to the questions raised by the Hon Wu Chi-wai is as follows:
(a) The permitted PRs of the sites where PRH estates and TPS estates are situated are stipulated in the prevailing Outline Zoning Plans. There is no such stipulation in the VOs or Government leases on individual estates. The relevant information is listed in the Annex. Upon completion of individual estates, alteration or addition works may be carried out upon demand by the residents and thus this may change the total gross floor area (GFA) and actual PR of the relevant estates. The GFA of individual estates (including the communal facilities therein) can only be derived upon careful assessment by reference to the prevailing regulations and the relevant conditions of the Government leases (if applicable).
(b) and (c) In general, for PRH estates with no divested property, the Government has empowered the HA by virtue of the VO to undertake alteration works of the communal facilities therein. Should HD need to carry out alteration works of the communal facilities, they have to be carried out in accordance with the BO and the planning requirements applicable to the relevant estates. For estates with divested facilities, land is granted under Government leases. Relevant works are subject to the requirements of the BO, planning requirements, as well as the relevant clauses in the Government leases. If the works require any relaxation or modification of lease conditions, such as an increase in GFA, application to the LandsD will be required. The LandsD will decide if any land premium will be charged for the modification of lease conditions.
Lands for TPS estates are also granted under Government leases. If there is any need to carry out alteration works of communal facilities in Estate Common Area (ECA), the Owners' Corporations have to submit appropriate application to the LandsD and the relevant departments. If the works require any relaxation or modification of lease conditions, the LandsD will decide if any payment of land premium is required as a result of the application.
Before carrying out any alternation works for facilities in PRH estates, the HD will assess the feasibility of the works from the technical and planning perspectives, and apply to the relevant departments as appropriate. There have been no cases involving such applications being rejected in the past five years.
(d) In accordance with the BO, all the covered buildings/facilities at the ECA shall be included in the total GFA of the estates and shall not exceed the allowable PR, and the restrictions of the Government lease (if applicable) of the estates.
Ends/Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:01
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