Hong Kong rules out Wang Fuk Court buy-back extension as 100 owners hesitate
About 100 homeowners, or 5 per cent, at fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong have yet to accept the government’s buy-back offer with a week left before the deadline, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun has said, stressing that the acquisition scheme will not be extended. “The deadline is a very serious timeline … it will not be extended, nor will better terms and a higher…
Around 100 homeowners, comprising about 5%, have yet to accept the government's buy-back offer for fire-damaged Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong, with just a week remaining before the deadline, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun has announced. Wong reiterated that the acquisition scheme would not be extended and that compensation under the statutory mechanism would be significantly lower at a later stage.
The deadly fire in December 2022 claimed 168 lives and displaced thousands, leading to the offer of compensation ranging from HK$8,000 to HK$10,500 per square foot. Of the 1,878 households that have submitted acceptance letters, 74.1% of owners have signed sale and purchase agreements with the government. Wong stressed that homeowners cannot accept the offer after the deadline and that the government would not raise the acquisition price at the last minute like private developers could.
The government's buy-back plan, funded by HK$6.8 billion in public money and HK$2.8 billion from a donation-backed support fund, aims to rehouse affected families by the end of the year.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post - Hong Kong's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
