Hong Kong "Simple House Regulations Draft" published in the Constitution, planned to implement regulatory system in March next year.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today published the "Subdivided Units Regulation Bill" in the official gazette, aiming to introduce a regulatory system for subdivided units in residential buildings for rent to ensure that they can provide safe and reasonable living environments, and to comprehensively and orderly address the longstanding issue of poor quality "subdivided units". The "Bill" will be submitted to the Hong Kong Legislative Council for first and second readings on July 9. The Hong Kong SAR Government will fully cooperate with the Legislative Council in its deliberations, striving to have the "Bill" passed as soon as possible and implement the "subdivided units" regulatory system by March next year, taking a significant step in bidding farewell to poor quality "subdivided units". The "Bill" requires that subdivided units in residential buildings must meet a series of minimum standards related to living environment, including internal floor area, net floor-to-ceiling height, fire safety, structural safety, lighting and ventilation, toilets, water supply points and water and electricity meters, and obtain "subdivided units" certification before they can be legally rented for residential purposes. Anyone who rents out uncertified subdivided units will be criminally liable, while the tenants involved will not bear legal responsibility. A spokesperson for the Hong Kong SAR Government stated that as a transitional arrangement for the gradual implementation of the "subdivided units" regulatory system, the government will establish a registration system for existing subdivided units in residential units for a period of 12 months, with a grace period of 36 months, allowing registered residential units to carry out necessary renovation works for their subdivided units and apply for "subdivided units" certification. Subdivided units that are not registered, those whose grace period has expired, and new units entering the market must apply for certification to become compliant "subdivided units" before they can be legally rented for residential purposes. The spokesperson added that the government has extensively consulted various stakeholders on solving the issue of "subdivided units", and stakeholders generally agree with the policy objectives and legislative framework of the "subdivided units" regulatory system. The "Bill" has appropriately reflected the received opinions. Overall, stakeholders and society have responded positively to the legislation.