Five-Year Plan: NGOs urge stronger protections for the underprivileged, from rent controls to heatwave measures

Local concern groups have urged the government to provide low-income residents with stronger protections, ranging from rent controls to heatwave safety measures, in response to Hong Kong leader John Lee’s first Five-Year Plan and his administration’s final Policy Address.

Among the groups that responded to Lee’s policy announcement was anti-poverty NGO the Society for Community Organization (SoCO), which urged the government to reinstate the income-based poverty line, scrapped by officials in 2022.

A coalition of NGOs, including Grassroots Wishes, Concerning Grassroot Housing Rights Alliance, Care for Carers, and Alliance for Children Development Rights, held a watch party for Lee’s address to the Legislative Council on Wednesday.

In a joint statement issued Wednesday evening, the coalition urged the government to cap non-local labour by implementing a circuit-breaker mechanism that triggers when unemployment, underemployment, salary levels, and the local labour supply hit a certain benchmark.

It also urged authorities to review the existing heat stress warning system to take into account work environments and labour intensity.

Heat prevention requirements should also be incorporated into tender agreements, complete with a penalty system and fines, as well as restrictions on bidding for tenders, the groups said.

Housing targets

The coalition also presented a range of policy recommendations regarding housing, including urging the government to establish a cap on initial rents for Basic Housing Units — subdivided units that meet minimum living standards set by the authorities.

See also: John Lee says wait for subsidised rental flats will fall to under 4 years by 2030

Residents have expressed concerns that landlords might hike rents after bringing their flats up to standard.

Lee’s Five-Year Plan says the government will aim to “resolve the issue of substandard subdivided units” by 2030 and expects to bring the average waiting time for subsidised rental housing down to four years in 2030/31.

Delivering the half-decade policy blueprint, the chief executive said that the city will “substantially increase public housing supply” in the run-up to 2030 through short- and long-term measures.

In its Wednesday statement, SoCO welcomed these targets but noted that Lee’s policy announcement failed to address the long-running problem of “coffin homes” — living spaces that fit little more than a single bed and some personal items, and currently house over 1,000 residents.

It also said that the government’s baby bonus scheme, updated to include a HK$30,000 cash handout for families having a second or subsequent child, lacked long-term support such as housing discounts, learning allowances, free childcare, and subsidies allowing parents to work part-time.

Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

Support HKFP  |  Policies & Ethics  |  Error/typo?  |  Contact  |  Newsletter  | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps

Make a one-off donation.

James Lee is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press with an interest in culture and social issues. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Journalism from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he witnessed the institution’s transformation over the course of the 2019 extradition bill protests and after the passing of the Beijing-imposed security law.

Since joining HKFP in 2023, he has covered local politics, the city’s housing crisis, as well as landmark court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial. He was previously a reporter at The Standard where he interviewed pro-establishment heavyweights and extensively covered the Covid-19 pandemic and Hong Kong’s political overhauls under the national security law.