Hong Kong’s Housing Bureau has said it is concerned about leaks at a government-subsidised transitional housing project in Kai Tak, following reports of water seepage a month after tenants moved in.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Housing Bureau said it became aware of water seepage at the T-Loft project in Kai Tak in early May. Emergency repair works have been carried out, the bureau said, adding that the contractor has completed the “required rectifications” for about 60 affected households.
The housing project, which has over 500 units, is operated by charity Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. Construction on the four-story complex began in December 2022, with residents moving in in March.
Under a government grant, charities can receive subsidies from the authorities to build transitional housing projects. The projects are aimed at low-income individuals and households in the queue for public rental housing.
The Housing Bureau’s statement came after local media reported that residents at the Kai Tak housing project had complained about water leaking from pipes and seeping through walls. Some residents said their units had mould and cracked tiles.
One woman said she noticed the leaking about a month after she moved into the project in March, HK01 reported.
Jimmy Lam, a Kowloon City district councillor, told Oriental Daily that he met with representatives of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals in May, but the problem still persisted. He added that some residents had moved to hotels or to stay with family or friends as a result.
100 units affected
The T-Loft housing project in Kai Tak is one of many that the government is subsidising as part of its effort to increase housing supply and assist low-income Hongkongers priced out of the city’s exorbitant housing market.
In 2018, authorities set up a task force to work with NGOs to operate transitional housing projects. Besides utilising hotels and vacant buildings, the government also provides funding to NGOs to build projects using the Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) approach. The approach involves the use of prefabricated units manufactured off-site and installed at the premises.
In Tuesday statement, the Housing Bureau denied a connection between the leaks and building method: “There are numerous projects in the territory constructed using the Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) approach with assured standard. The water seepage in this case is not related to MiC.”
On Sunday, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals said in a statement that a consultant team began investigating the issue after receiving complaints about leaking pipes in April, and found that the quality of construction was “not ideal.”
There were about 100 units affected, the charity said, adding that it had arranged maintenance work. It said that no complaints had been received about leaking pipes since equipment to stabilise water pressure was installed at the end of July.
Other repair works were still ongoing, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals said, with an aim of completing them by September. The charity has already engaged more construction companies to speed up the progress, it said.
