'Ensure Basic Requirements For Sub-divided Flats'

Poor families living in sub-divided units have called on the government to introduce a set of basic requirements for their flats, so that they can live with dignity.

A poll of more than a 1,000 people by the Hong Kong Subdivided Flats Concerning Platform found almost all of them want adequate windows, a private bathroom and kitchen in their units. Some 140 of the respondents were those living in sub-divided units, rooftop structures and industrial units.

"They don't have proper kitchens. Their kitchen will be next to their bed, and even the kitchen next to the toilet, this is quite common in subdivided units," said the group's convenor Lai Kin-kwok.

"So I think if we can provide some kind of a benchmark standard like a separate toilet, that can help prevent some hygiene issues," he said.

Lai said it's time for the government to act to ensure people's right to adequate housing which the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has declared as a universal legal right.

The group called on the government to learn from other places such as Britain and Taiwan and start compiling its own set of basic living requirements to improve people's livelihood.