HOUSING
permanent or interim housing. The Housing Department manages three transit centres with a capacity for 510 people.
Squatter and Cottage Areas
The numbers of squatters and squatter structures have been reduced to 20 800 and 8 800 in the urban area and to about 210 400 and 395 700 in the New Territories respectively as a result of rehousing and clearance. Squatter control is maintained by regular patrols and hut-to-hut checks. About 2 000 illegal structures and extensions were demolished during the year.
In the event of fire, landslips or other natural disasters, the HA provides transit accommodation for people rendered homeless. Eligible households are offered permanent rehousing.
Cottage Areas consist of mainly single-storey structures built of stone or less- permanent materials on hillsides. There are now five cottage areas in Hong Kong housing some 2 800 people. These will be cleared by 2001.
Rooftop structures
Rooftop structures, often unauthorised, have been built on the rooftops of tenement buildings in the urban areas. Since the 1980s, the Buildings Department has conducted clearances of illegal rooftop structures to remove risks to building structures or from inadequate fire escapes. The department has pledged to remove unauthorised rooftop structures from at least 100 buildings annually.
Rooftop dwellers who are eligible for public rental housing are encouraged to register on the public housing Waiting List. Persons who are rendered homeless as a result of demolition of rooftop structures will normally be accommodated in interim housing.
Bedspace apartments
The living conditions of many bedspace apartment dwellers are less than satisfactory. In 1994, the Bedspace Apartments Ordinance was enacted to regulate the fire and building safety of bedspace apartments. The latter were required to comply with new safety standards by 1998.
As it is government policy that no one should be rendered homeless as a result of this exercise, public housing, including interim housing, will be offered to all eligible persons displaced from bedspace apartments which do not meet the new safety standards for licensing. Bedspace apartment lodgers are also encouraged to apply for public rental housing through the Waiting List.
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