Hong Kong's Housing Secretary Concludes Paris Visit, Explores Sustainable Urban Development and Housing Initiatives.

S for Housing concludes Paris visit

​The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, concluded her visit to Paris, France, yesterday (May 22, Paris time).

In the morning, Ms Ho met with a representative of CDC Habitat, a social housing association in France, to learn more about the mode of operation, development strategies, and challenges of social housing in France. She also shared Hong Kong's situation and the various housing initiatives being implemented by the Housing Bureau.

Ms Ho then visited an integrated residential and commercial community comprising social housing, which was transformed from the Olympic Athletes' Village, to learn about sustainable urban development.

Moreover, Ms Ho exchanged views with a renowned urban planner, Associate Professor of the IAE Paris Sorbonne Business School, Professor Carlos Moreno, and shared her vision and thoughts on sustainable urban planning and design. Professor Moreno put forward the urban planning concept of the "15-minute city", which aims to enable residents in a community to meet their daily needs for food, clothing, housing and transport within a 15-minute walking or cycling distance and to enhance environmental sustainability. Ms Ho pointed out that this coincides with the planning concept of the new public housing estates of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) and cited Queen's Hill Estate as an example, demonstrating the HKHA's planning of a resident-oriented, self-sufficient community that embraces cultural heritage and blends with nature to create a sustainable community. Professor Moreno showed great interest in Hong Kong's public housing planning model and expressed his wish to have the opportunity to visit Hong Kong in the future.

In the evening, Ms Ho met with the Advisor to the Mayor on housing, urban planning, architecture, land development, Mr Renaud Paque, and Director of Housing and Habitat, Ms Doan Lebel, to exchange views on public housing policies and experiences on sustainable urbanisation and urban planning concepts.

Concluding the trip, Ms Ho said, "This visit tied in with the HB's Housing•I&T initiative this year, introducing the latest developments of advanced technology companies from Hong Kong and the Mainland in the areas of construction technologies, public housing, green building, etc, as well as demonstrating to the world the application of technologies such as Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) and construction robots that help enhance construction efficiency and safety. We will actively make reference to overseas experiences on decarbonisation and energy-saving technologies. At the same time, we will fully capitalise on Hong Kong's unique advantages, reinforce connectivity, and play the role as a 'super connector' and a 'super value-adder'. I expect that the two cities will maintain liaison and strengthen exchanges in areas such as innovative building technologies, public housing construction, green buildings, well-being communities, and enhancing the housing ladder to give new impetus to public housing construction."

Ms Ho will return to Hong Kong this afternoon (May 23).

S for Housing concludes Paris visit Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

S for Housing concludes Paris visit Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

S for Housing concludes Paris visit Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

S for Housing concludes Paris visit Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

S for Housing concludes Paris visit Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Owners of three detached houses of Redhill Peninsula fined over $270,000 in total for carrying out unauthorised building works

Owners of three detached houses of Redhill Peninsula pleaded guilty at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts last Thursday (January 8) to carrying out unauthorised building works (UBWs) in contravention of section 14(1) of the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123) , namely, knowingly undertaking building works without prior approval and consent from the Buildings Department (BD). They were fined $275,000 in total by the court.

The BD conducted a large-scale operation in September 2023 to inspect houses along the coastal area of Redhill Peninsula. UBWs were found in a number of detached houses, including the aforementioned three houses. The investigation by the BD found that the owners of the three houses had knowingly carried out the UBWs without the prior approval and consent from the BD, including adding structures to the garden, open yard, living room, bedroom, flat roof and the rooftop, thus contravening section 14(1) of the BO. Hence, the BD instigated prosecution action against the owners under section 40(1AA) of the BO in August and September 2024. They were convicted and fined $130,000, $85,000 and $60,000 respectively last Thursday.

"The BD has already instigated prosecution actions against 30 detached houses on Redhill Peninsula. So far, 24 cases have been convicted by the courts for contravening section 14(1) of the BO. Court hearings for the remaining cases are being rolled out," a BD spokesman said today (January 12).

The spokesman said that property owners should consult building professionals before carrying out building works to ensure compliance with the BO.

Pursuant to section 40(1AA) of the BO, any person who knowingly contravenes section 14(1) (i.e. commencement or carrying out any building works without having first obtained approval and consent from the BD) commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $400,000 and imprisonment for two years, and a further fine of up to $20,000 for each day that the offence continues.

The Government will submit a bill to the Legislative Council to amend the BO this year, which will include increasing penalties for offences against serious UBWs to enhance deterrence.