HONG KONG – The family of three comprising Lau Kai Fai, his wife and teenage son felt like winning a lottery when they shifted to a new 290 square feet Hong Kong flat last month.
They are among the first residents to be shifted to prefabricated module homes which have been built as a transition accommodation for people who are awaiting public housing. Now they are able to eat together rather than take turns.
For Lau, 70, the new home is a big step though it is tiny by the standards of many developed countries as they reside in one of the most crowded urban centres in the world.
“It feels like a home,” Lau said. “The previous flat was only a place to sleep.”
He is the beneficiary of the city’s latest drive to ease housing shortage. More than 200,000 people reside in subdivided flats and they await for at least five years to get public housing.
Transitional residences are constructed on vacant plots leased by the government or private developers for only a few years. The modules can be moved and reused.
In Hong Kong, more than 1 million of the 7.5 million people live in poverty. As of June, 800 transitional homes were built out of the 15,000 that have been planned over the next three years.
The home of Lau opens onto a bunk bed. The living room and the bedroom are separated by a wardrobe and a rotating chair doubles for computer work and for dining. About 12 steps from the entrance is the mini kitchen with a refrigerator, stove and washer.