Government welcomes passage of Basic Housing Units Bill
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The Basic Housing Units Ordinance requires SDUs in residential buildings to comply with a set of minimum standards of living conditions, including minimum area, minimum height, fire safety, structural safety, separate toilet, water supply requirements, lighting and ventilation, as well as separate water and electricity meters, and to obtain Basic Housing Unit (BHU) recognition before they are allowed to be let out for habitation. There will be criminal liability on the person who lets out unrecognised SDUs, while the tenants concerned will not be held liable.
The Ordinance will be gazetted on October 3 and come into effect on March 1, 2026. Upon commencement of the Ordinance, the Housing Bureau (HB) will start accepting applications for BHU recognition. At the same time, as a transitional arrangement to implement the BHU regulatory regime progressively, the HB will concurrently launch a 12-month registration system for existing SDUs to make applications for registration to enjoy a 36-month grace period from March 1, 2027, to February 28, 2030, which will enable necessary alteration works to be carried out gradually and applications for BHU recognition to be made. To encourage SDU owners and/or operators to submit registration and recognition applications as early as possible, starting from March 1, 2026, the Government will provide "early-bird" reduction/waiver on recognition fees, i.e. application fees will be fully waived for early registration/application.
Given that there are currently about 110 000 SDUs in residential buildings in Hong Kong, involving about 220 000 residents, the Government will adopt a pragmatic and people-oriented approach, and take into account the future supply of BHUs and public housing, when taking orderly enforcement actions against illegal letting of unregistered and unrecognised SDUs upon completion of the 12-month registration period (i.e. starting from March 1, 2027). The Government will also provide appropriate temporary rehousing assistance to the affected households in need. To this end, the Ordinance stipulates that the provisions concerning the offence of illegal letting of SDUs will come into effect on March 1, 2027, allowing SDU owners and/or operators time to understand the impact of the new regulatory regime and gradually adapt to the requirements of BHU.
The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, said, "For a long time, Hong Kong has suffered from a shortage of land and public housing due to various factors, resulting in some less well-off citizens resorting to residing in SDUs with extremely poor conditions. To this end, the current-term Government has introduced a number of innovative and groundbreaking housing policies since taking office. These include continuously enhancing speed, quantity, efficiency and quality of public housing, significantly increasing the public housing supply, launching the unprecedented Light Public Housing, and continuously promoting the development of transitional housing. All these have successfully increased the housing supply significantly in a short period of time and allowed SDU households waiting for public housing to be housed in public housing more quickly, thereby enabling us to tackle the issue of substandard SDUs. The Government will implement the BHU regulatory regime in an orderly manner, with a view to gradually resolving the deep-rooted social issue of substandard SDUs in Hong Kong and ensuring that everyone, including the most vulnerable, can enjoy safe, hygienic and reasonable living conditions and live with dignity in this city."
Before the Ordinance comes into effect on March 1, 2026, the Government will carry out a series of publicity activities, including launching a thematic website, maintaining continued liaison with stakeholders such as professional bodies and estate agents, arranging talks or seminars at the district level, distributing promotional materials, and broadcasting promotional videos, with the aim of helping SDU owners, tenants and other stakeholders understand how to comply with the BHU regulatory regime through different channels.
Ends/Friday, September 26, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:11
Issued at HKT 12:11
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