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Buildings Department strives to eradicate subdivided domestic flats in industrial buildings (with photos)
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     A spokesperson for the Buildings Department (BD) said today (January 20) that the BD will continue its efforts to eradicate subdivided flats used for domestic purposes in industrial buildings. It will step up prosecution against owners who fail to comply with the relevant orders.

     Illegal subdivided flats used for domestic use in industrial buildings pose a serious fire safety risk to the occupants living there. To safeguard the lives of the occupants, the BD will issue statutory orders under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) to require the discontinuation of domestic use of the industrial building and the removal of the related unauthorised building works (UBWs). If the owner fails to comply with the order upon expiry, the BD will instigate prosecution against the owner. The BD may also arrange for the government contractor to carry out the required works and then recover the cost of the works plus a supervision charge and a surcharge from the owner.

     Apart from handling individual reports involving subdivided flats, the BD commenced a large-scale operation against illegal subdivided domestic flats in industrial buildings in 2012.

     During the inspection of the target buildings, the BD has issued 72 removal orders and discontinuance orders. Up to the end of December 2014, the BD had instigated 27 prosecutions against owners who failed to comply with the orders issued in the above operation.

     To ensure the safety of the public, the BD needs to take vigorous enforcement actions. Starting from 2014, the department has increased the number of target buildings in the above large-scale operation, striving to eradicate subdivided domestic flats in industrial buildings. Apart from stepping up prosecution against owners who fail to comply with the orders, the BD is now going to gradually apply for closure orders from the District Court and arrange for government contractors to carry out the required works for irresponsible owners who still fail to comply with the removal orders after being prosecuted.

Case sharing
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     The BD will arrange for a government contractor to clear the illegal subdivided flats at Workspaces No. 1 and No. 2 on 2/F of Wing Fung Industrial Building, 40-50 Sha Tsui Road, Tsuen Wan. The Notices of Intention to apply for closure orders were posted at conspicuous locations of the premises concerned in November 2014.  

     The building is one of the target buildings subject to the department's large-scale operation against subdivided flats. Earlier inspections carried out by BD staff revealed that the premises concerned and the unauthorised structures erected on their flat roofs had been illegally altered into nine and 12 subdivided cubicles respectively and their use had been changed from industrial to domestic.

     In view of the above, the BD served statutory orders under the BO in July 2013, requiring the owners of the subdivided flats to discontinue the present domestic use, demolish the unauthorised building works and reinstate the affected parts of the premises in accordance with the approved plans. As the owners failed to comply with the statutory orders upon expiry, the BD instigated prosecution against the owners. The owners were convicted and fined over $20,000 each at the Magistrates' Court in January and April 2014 respectively.

     As the owners have not carried out the required works after the conviction and the court fine, the BD instigated the second prosecution against the owners with the plea hearing held in December 2014. The owners pleaded guilty at the hearing and are now awaiting the court sentence. Also, the BD is going to engage a government contractor to demolish the UBWs under the BO. To ensure that the safety of the occupants of the subdivided flats concerned will not be affected by the clearance works, the department will apply for closure orders from the District Court in March 2015 to close down the premises, requiring the occupants to move out. Relevant government departments are rendering appropriate assistance to occupants who need to move out.

Support and assistance offered by the Government to occupants affected
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     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 been maintaining close liaison with the Housing Department, the Social Welfare Department and the Home Affairs Department to allow sufficient time for arranging appropriate financial, rehousing and social assistance to the affected occupants before carrying out the required works. The BD will also assist those eligible to make an application for the relocation allowance from the Community Care Fund.

     Furthermore, social workers from the BD will carry out home visits to explain to the occupants the details of the BD's enforcement action and will assist the affected occupants in applying for allowances offered by other organisations and seeking alternative accommodation, such as hostels managed by voluntary organisations and domestic units in private buildings to assist the affected occupants to move out smoothly earlier.

     The BD would like to take this opportunity to remind owners of industrial buildings not to change their units to domestic use illegally, and warn that owners who contravene the relevant legislation or fail to comply with statutory orders may be prosecuted. Failure to comply with a removal order served under s24(1) of the BO or a discontinuance order served under s25(2)(b) of the BO without reasonable excuse are serious offences under the BO. The maximum penalty upon conviction in the case of a removal order is a fine of $200,000 and one year's imprisonment, and a further fine of $20,000 for each day that the offence continues. In the case of a discontinuance order, the maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine at level 5 (at present $50,000) and one year's imprisonment, and a further fine of $5,000 for each day that the offence continues.

     Furthermore, for their own safety, occupants of subdivided flats should move out of the flats as soon as possible. Any person who makes rental arrangements or prospective tenants should also enquire about the approved intended use of the unit and should not rent and live in premises only intended for industrial use.

Ends/Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:15

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