CB(1)1163/09-10(01)

For information on 19 February 2010

Subcommittee on Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) (Specification of Lower Percentage) Notice Profile of Old Buildings in Hong Kong

Purpose This paper outlines the profile of old buildings in Hong Kong and the likely changes in the coming decade. Background 2. In Hong Kong, the design working life of an ordinary building is 50 years. The older the physical age of a building, the more likely it is fraught with building condition problems requiring attention over time. Rehabilitation will help extend the working life of buildings. Redevelopment remains an effective tool to tackle the problem of urban decay in the long run. 3. As at end 2009, there are about 41 000 buildings in Hong Kong, of which about 4 000 buildings are aged 50 years or above. The buildings aged 50 years or above account for 9% of the total number of buildings in the territory (Annex I). 4. A breakdown of the age of existing buildings by type is at Annex II. It is noted that residential/composite use buildings account for most of the building stock. As at today, the number of residential/composite use buildings aged 50 years or above is about 2 600. 5. Based on the records of the Buildings Department (BD), we estimate that over the next ten years, approximately an average 570 buildings per annum will reach the age of 50 (Annex III). It is estimated that the number of buildings in this category will rise from about 4 000 in 2009 to about 9 500 in 2019. Without proper repair and maintenance, the magnitude of urban decay is bound to grow much faster in the coming decade.

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6. As the majority of buildings reaching 50 years of age in the coming decade are residential and composite commercial/residential buildings (Annex IV) in multiple ownership, to assemble owners consent for redevelopment can be particularly difficult. 7. The Urban Renewal Authority (URA), established in 2001 to replace the former Land Development Corporation (LDC) as the public redevelopment agent, has been carrying out redevelopment projects to help arrest urban decay in Hong Kong. As at end 2009, the URA has directly, or through collaboration with the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS), commenced 37 redevelopment projects and four preservation projects (a list of all these projects is set out at AnnexV). The URA has also inherited 10 already commenced redevelopment projects from the former LDC. Since its establishment in 2001, the URA has demolished/will demolish about 800 old buildings1 for redevelopment in projects it has commenced. As the pace at which the URA has been carrying out urban renewal has been much slower than originally envisaged, there is a need to more actively involve the private sector in the urban renewal process. It is to be noted that the Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) Ordinance (Cap 545) is also the Ordinance that facilitates joint sale actions of the individual minority owners acting together. 8. While building age is certainly not a conclusive indicator for redevelopment, nonetheless, it remains a fact that older buildings are more prone to building maintenance problems. According to the BDs records, building repair orders served on buildings aged 50 years or above in Hong Kong (representing about 8% of all existing buildings) account for 19% of all building repair orders that the Department has served over the past five years.

Development Bureau February 2010

____________________________________________________________________________________ 1 The URA will have preserved a total of no less than 57 old buildings as well as various historic features, upon completion of the preservation projects and redevelopment projects with preservation elements.

Annex I Age Profile of Buildings (as at 31 December 2009) Age <10 10 19 20 29 30 39 40 49 50 Total
Source : Buildings Department

Number of Buildings 5 814 8 569 11 148 6 688 5 712 3 690 41 621

Percentage 14.0% 20.6% 26.7% 16.1% 13.7% 8.9% 100%

Annex II Age of Buildings by Type Age Less than 10 10 19 20 29 30 39 40 49 50 Total Office/ Industrial Commercial 223 68 Residential/ Others* Composite 4 843 680 Total 5 814

729 646 523 177 29 2327

393 623 552 252 40 1 928

6 636 9 165 5 124 4 768 2 582 33 118

811 714 489 515 1 039 4 248

8 569 11 148 6 688 5 712 3 690 41 621

Note * : Includes telephone exchanges, churches, schools and 838 pre-war buildings etc. Source : Buildings Department

Annex III

Estimated number of buildings turning 50 if not demolished Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Total
Source : Buildings Department

Number of buildings turning 50 366 360 453 719 904 839 799 563 398 314 5 715

Annex IV Estimates of Old Buildings (50 years or above) Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Office/ Industrial Residential/ Commercial Composite 29 33 39 45 54 67 82 118 161 191 206 40 50 70 88 112 139 203 247 263 277 292 2 582 2 900 3 204 3 579 4 169 2 012 5 707 6 384 6 829 7 109 7 350 Others* 1 039 1 073 1 103 1 157 1223 1274 1 339 1 381 1 440 1 511 1 554 Total 3 690 4 056 4 416 4 869 5 588 6 492 7 331 8 130 8 693 9 088 9 402

Note * : Include telephone exchanges, churches, schools and 838 pre-war buildings etc. Source : Buildings Department

Annex V 1. Commenced redevelopment projects inherited from the ex-LDC* (total 10) Item 1. Project Code H1 Project Name Queen Street, Sheung Wan [Queens Terrace] Tai Yuen Street/Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai [The Zenith] New Praya, Kennedy Town [The Merton] Ka Wai Man Road, Kennedy Town [Mount Davis 33] Argyle Street/Shanghai Street, Mong Kok [Langham Place] Kwong Yung Street, Mong Kok [Paradise Square] Waterloo Road/Yunnan Lane, Yau Ma Tei [8 Waterloo Road] Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui [The Masterpiece] Tsuen Wan Town Centre, Tsuen Wan [Vision City] Yeung Uk Road, Tsuen Wan [The Dynasty] Total
* excluding the 25 projects announced by the LDC before dissolution

Number of Old Buildings Affected 50

2.

H9

31

3.

H12

15

4.

H13

5.

K2

58

6.

K8

10

7.

K10

19

8.

K11

20

9.

K13

22

10.

K17

225

2. Ex-LDC Projects Commenced by the URA (total 25) Item 1. Project Code H16 Project Name Johnston Road [J Residence] Cherry Street [Florient Rise] Fuk Wing Street/Fuk Wa Street [Vista] Po On Road/Shun Ning Road [Beacon Lodge] Reclamation Street [MOD 595] First Street/Second Street [Inland Crest] Wing Street Street/Staunton Street Queens Road East Peel Street/Graham Street Lee Tung Street/McGregor Street Nga Tsin Wai Village Kwun Tong Town Centre MacPherson Stadium Sai Yee Street Number of Old Buildings Affected 21

2.

K3

33

3.

K26

4.

K19

5.

K27

6.

H20

30

7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

H19 H17 H18 H15 K1 K7 K9 K28

24 5 37 52 36 24 1 14

Item 15.

Project Code K30

Project Name Beford Road/Larch Street [i-home] Baker Court Larch Street/Fir Street Pine Street/Anchor Street Sai Wan Ho Street Shau Kei Wan Road Po On Road/Wai Wai Road Castle Peak Road/Cheung Wah Street Castle Peak Road/Un Chau Street Un Chau Street/Fuk Wing Street Castle Peak Road/Hing Wah Street Total

Number of Old Buildings Affected 7

16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

K33 K31 K32 H14# H21# K25# K20# K21# K22# K23#

2 12 12 2 17 19 10 22 22 11 433

# Collaboration with the Hong Kong Housing Society

3. URAO projects commenced by the URA (total 16)

Item 1& 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7,8 &9 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Project Code SSP/1/001& 002 WC/001 H05-026# SYP/1/001 TKT/2/001

Project Name Lai Chi Kok Road/Kwelin Street and Yee Kuk Street Mallory Street/Burrows Street Stone Nullah Lane/Hing Wan Street Yu Lok Lane/Centre Street Fuk Tsun Street/Pine Street

Number of Old Buildings Affected 17

5 9 14 3 37 6 5 5 14 10

SSP/1/003-005 Hai Tan Street/Kweilin Street/Pei Ho Street K03/2/001 Fuk Tsun Street/Anchor Street TKW/1/001 MTK/1/001 MK/01 MK/02 Chi Kiang Street/Ha Heung Road Pak Tai Street/Mok Cheong Street Shanghai Street/Argyle Street Prince Edward Road West/Yuen Ngai Street San Shan Road/Pau Chung Street Shun Ning Road Total

15. 16.

MTK/1/002 SSP/3/001

7 5 137

# Collaboration with the Hong Kong Housing Society