HONG KONG: More than 97 percent of flat owners at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po have accepted the Hong Kong government’s buyout offer following last year’s deadly fire, with 1,939 households submitting signed documents by noon on Sunday.
The Housing Bureau said 97.7 percent of owners at the fire damaged estate had returned their duly signed letters of acceptance, confirming that they intend to sell their flats to the government in exchange for cash or take part in the government’s flat for flat arrangement.
The response comes ahead of a Monday afternoon deadline set for owners to formally indicate whether they will accept the acquisition terms. The government has urged the remaining owners who intend to sell their properties to submit their signed letters before the deadline expires.
Nearly four in five households have signed sale agreements
The latest figures show that the government has already moved beyond the initial stage of securing owners’ consent. As of Sunday, the Housing Bureau said it had signed sale and purchase agreements with 1,541 households, representing 77.7 percent of all flats at the estate.
The distinction between the signed acceptance letters and completed sale and purchase agreements is significant. Returning an acceptance letter confirms an owner’s intention to proceed under the government’s scheme, while the sale and purchase agreement formally advances the property transaction.
The high acceptance rate means that most owners have now committed to one of the two settlement arrangements offered by the government. Officials are continuing to work with those who have not yet returned their documents, particularly owners who have indicated that they are considering the acquisition offer.
A government spokesman urged owners who still intend to sell their flats not to miss the final opportunity to submit their signed acquisition letters.
Owners can hand their documents directly to a member of the designated engagement team by 5pm on Monday. They can also return the paperwork by post, by hand or through a courier using the return envelope provided by the government.
Government steps up contact with remaining owners
With the deadline approaching, the Housing Bureau has intensified its efforts to reach households that have not yet responded.
An engagement team coordinated by the bureau has been contacting outstanding owners to explain the arrangements and remind them of the deadline. The government’s efforts reflect the importance of securing responses from as many households as possible before the acquisition process moves further ahead.
For owners who have already accepted the offer, the next stage is the completion of the necessary legal and property transactions. The government has been signing individual sale and purchase agreements as owners complete the required procedures.
The scale of the response also gives the authorities a clearer indication of how many households are prepared to leave the estate under the government’s long term settlement plan.
The two options available to affected owners were designed to provide different forms of compensation and rehousing following the devastating fire. Owners can sell their flats to the government for cash or participate in a flat for flat arrangement, allowing them to obtain another property under the government’s scheme.
HK$6.8 billion allocated for the buyback
The government announced in February that it would allocate HK$6.8 billion, equivalent to about US$870 million, to buy back all flats at Wang Fuk Court.
The proposal formed part of the government’s response to the consequences of the November fire, which caused widespread destruction across the estate and left hundreds of residents without their homes.
The acquisition programme is intended to provide owners with a longer term settlement rather than leaving them to deal individually with damaged properties and the wider uncertainty surrounding the future of the estate.
The government’s buyout plan has therefore become one of the central parts of its response to the disaster. The strong acceptance rate suggests that most owners have decided that selling their properties or taking the alternative housing arrangement offers a clearer path forward.
Fire destroyed seven of eight blocks
The fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court on Nov 26 last year and devastated seven of the estate’s eight residential blocks. The blaze killed 168 people, making it one of the deadliest fires in Hong Kong’s recent history.
The scale of the destruction left the estate facing extensive damage and raised serious questions about building safety, emergency response and the conditions that allowed the fire to spread so rapidly.
Thousands of residents were affected by the disaster, either through the loss of their homes or the disruption caused by the damage to the estate. The government subsequently introduced a series of measures to support affected residents while considering longer term arrangements for the properties.
The buyout plan was intended to address one of the most difficult issues left by the fire: what would happen to the damaged flats and the ownership rights attached to them.
For many owners, accepting the government’s offer provides a way to resolve their property interests without having to wait for the future of the damaged estate to be determined.
Investigation into the fire continues
The government’s property acquisition programme is progressing as the authorities continue to deal with the wider aftermath of the disaster.
A separate investigation into the fire remains ongoing. The government has postponed publication of its report on the blaze until the end of October, according to an earlier announcement.
The findings are expected to address issues surrounding the circumstances of the fire and the factors that contributed to the scale of the disaster. The report could also influence discussions about building safety and fire prevention measures in other residential developments.
The delay means affected families and the wider public will have to wait longer for the full findings of the investigation, even as the government moves ahead with its property acquisition programme.
The two processes are connected by the same disaster but serve different purposes. The buyout scheme addresses property ownership and housing arrangements, while the investigation is intended to establish what happened and why the fire became so deadly.
Rental support extended for affected residents
The government has also announced continued rental assistance for Wang Fuk Court owners affected by the fire.
Under the latest arrangement, rental grants will be provided until December 2027. The extension is intended to give displaced households more time to secure longer term housing arrangements while the acquisition process continues.
For residents who have accepted the government’s offer, the additional rental support can provide financial relief during the transition from their damaged flats to new accommodation.
The combination of property acquisition, alternative housing options and rental assistance forms the broader settlement package being offered to affected households.
Monday deadline marks next stage
The 97.7 percent acceptance figure leaves only a small proportion of owners who have yet to return their signed letters.
However, the remaining responses still matter because owners who intend to sell to the government must complete the acceptance process within the specified period. Officials have therefore continued direct contact with households that have not yet responded.
The Housing Bureau has reminded owners that signed letters must reach the government by the 5pm Monday deadline if they wish to take up the acquisition offer through the current process.
Once the deadline passes, attention is expected to shift toward completing the outstanding sale and purchase agreements and resolving the remaining property cases.
For an estate where seven of eight blocks were destroyed and 168 people lost their lives, the buyout process represents a major step in dealing with the physical and financial aftermath of the disaster. With 1,939 households already having submitted acceptance letters and 1,541 sale and purchase agreements signed, the government has secured the agreement of the overwhelming majority of owners.
The immediate task is now straightforward: owners who still wish to participate must submit their signed documents before 5pm Monday, while the authorities continue processing agreements and providing support to households displaced by the fire.