Tenant of Hong Kong’s only private low-rent housing estate gets hearing to challenge eviction
85-year-old accuses housing corporation of failing to ensure resettlement of residents before redeveloping neighbourhood
A Hong Kong court has given an elderly tenant a chance to challenge her eviction from the city’s only privately owned low-rental housing estate.
The High Court on Friday granted permission to 85-year-old Leung Ah-duen to commence a judicial review, the same day the landlord sought to reverse an earlier ruling barring the fast-tracking of legal proceedings to reclaim possession of the premises for redevelopment.
Leung had accused the Hong Kong Settlers Housing Corporation of going back on its promises that it would ensure the resettlement of residents at Tai Hang Sai Estate before proceeding with its redevelopment plans.
Mr Justice Russell Coleman considered Leung’s case to be strong enough to warrant a substantive hearing based on written submissions filed by her lawyers.
Leung’s lawyers agreed to help on a pro bono basis after the case of her and 12 other tenants resisting the corporation’s eviction orders drew significant media attention in recent months.
The non-profit corporation, which is affiliated with property giant Henderson Land Development, received the green light from authorities in 2014 to redevelop the Shek Kip Mei housing compound.
The project, slated to complete in 2029, is expected to offer 2,000 flats to first-time homebuyers and another 1,300 for the return of existing tenants.
