Nearly all Wang Fuk Court owners accept buy-out, leaving 17 holdouts as offer ends

More than 99 per cent of homeowners at fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court have accepted a government buyout of their flats, leaving just 17 households facing potential compulsory acquisition after the scheme closed on Monday.

By the cut‑off time at 5pm on Monday, 1,967 or 99.1 per cent of the estate’s 1,984 flat owners had returned acceptance letters. The remaining 17 may face compulsory acquisition at lower compensation levels in the future.

Among those who accepted, 1,559, or 78.6 per cent, have signed formal sale and purchase agreements with the government.

“The government will continue to pursue the remaining ownership acquisition procedures at full speed to advance the acquisition process,” a government statement read on Monday.

The HK$6.8 billion (US$867.24 million) scheme was announced in February after a fire tore through seven blocks of the Tai Po estate last November, killing 168 people and displacing about 5,000 residents in Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in more than seven decades.

In June, the government extended the buy-back offer to Wang Chi House, the only block spared by the fire, adding another HK$1 billion to the scheme’s cost. Officials have ruled out on‑site redevelopment.

Under the scheme, the government is acquiring flats at HK$8,000 or HK$10,500 per square foot, depending on whether the owner has paid the land premium.