Govt Urged To Get Rid Of Cage Homes In A Decade

A grassroots organisation on Sunday called on the government to step up its efforts to tackle unsuitable housing in Hong Kong, saying that Chief Executive Carrie Lam should come up with a timetable in her upcoming policy address to eliminate so-called cage homes and cubicle homes.

The Society for Community Organisation (Soco) said some 50,000 households are still living in such units, where tenants have to share kitchens and bathrooms.

Speaking at a press conference, Sze Lai-shan, a community organiser from Soco, said the government should get rid of these homes within a decade, and spend HK$10 billion to build transitional housing to accommodate people in need.

"The grassroots cannot tolerate any more. Actually ten years is a long time, not to mention twenty years," she said.

A woman surnamed Lau told reporters she has been living in a cage home in Sham Shui Po for the past two decades.

The retired cleaner said she hopes to be allocated a public housing unit as soon as possible.

Another woman surnamed Chan also shared the same wish.

She said she and her husband paid HK$3,800 per month for their 90sq ft flat on the rooftop of a building in Sham Shui Po.