Hong Kong government offers to buy apartment ownerships from fire victims

Hong Kong’s government is offering to buy back homeownership rights from residents displaced by last year’s deadly Wang Fuk Court fire

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong officials on Saturday unveiled resettlement plans for thousands of people who were displaced by the deadliest blaze in decades last November, proposing to buy back the homeownership rights from the fire victims.

Almost three months after the massive blaze spread across seven apartment buildings in Wang Fuk Court, its former occupants have been living in uncertainty about when they would find somewhere they could call home again.

Many of them are adjusting to new lives in their temporary homes scattered across various districts, with the government offering rental grants to help homeowners pay for the short-term accommodation.

Officials said in a news conference on Saturday that homeowners of the seven buildings can sell their ownership rights for cash to secure accommodation of their choice or buy an apartment under a designated government policy. Residents who prefer not to deal with a large amount of cash can directly exchange an apartment under the policy.

The government estimated that buying back the rights of some 1,700 units would cost about 6.8 billion Hong Kong dollars ($870 million), with about 4 billion Hong Kong dollars ($512 million) of that sum to be from public funds and the rest to be covered by a relief fund. The amount of public funds involved could eventually be lowered, factoring in insurance compensation.