Hong Kong illegal structures: officials warn they will seek court warrants to enter 3 houses at Redhill Peninsula after owners fail to respond to inspection requests

Hong Kong authorities will apply for court warrants to gain entry to three houses at a luxury residential estate where rampant abuse of building laws has been uncovered after owners failed to respond to inspection requests twice.

Officers from the buildings and lands departments on Monday afternoon returned to the Redhill Peninsula in Tai Tam to inspect 10 homes they were unable to get into on Friday and which were suspected to have unauthorised structures and had illegally encroached on government land.

Buildings Department chief building surveyor Keith Ko Kiu-kin said officials had managed to get in touch with seven of the 10 owners and he urged the remaining three to contact officers as soon as possible.

Suspected illegal structures found at 70 homes out of 85 at Hong Kong’s Redhill

“We will apply for a court warrant [on Tuesday] … If everything goes smoothly, we can post the notice [on Tuesday],” Ko said.

“We hope to accelerate the process but we need to follow procedures.”

The 10 properties were among 85 seaside houses checked by the government on Friday, after another four homes at the estate were exposed by a recent landslide as having illegal structures or encroaching on government land.

Out of the 85 properties, 70 had suspected illegal structures while 40 homes were also suspected of using government land without permission.

What illegal structures were found at Hong Kong luxury estate Redhill Peninsula?

According to the Buildings Ordinance, if officers have been refused entry to premises on at least two different days, a magistrate can issue a warrant authorising their entry.

Ko said authorities gained access to only one of the 10 homes on Friday and confirmed there were unauthorised structures and illegal use of government land.

But he did not reveal the scale of the problem as it involved details of the investigation.

He said authorities had scheduled inspections with the remaining six owners in the coming two weeks.

Ko said the government would start checking a second batch of homes next week.

“Due to manpower issues, we will need to conduct our work in stages,” he said.

Authorities on Friday managed to enter the first four houses found to have breached buildings and land laws, and ordered owners to remove illegal structures and return government land within 150 days.

The government said it would initiate a prosecution against owners who failed to comply with the orders without a reasonable excuse.

Offenders face a maximum fine of HK$200,000 (US$25,575) and one year behind bars. They can also be fined HK$20,000 for each day they fail to comply with the order.

Hong Kong seaside homes targeted as officials widen crackdown on illegal structures

Owners convicted of continued occupancy of government land for the first time can be fined a maximum of HK$500,000 and jailed for six months. They can be further fined HK$50,000 for each day until they stop doing so.

Upon a second conviction, they face up to six months’ imprisonment and a HK$1 million fine. They can also be fined HK$100,000 for each day until they have complied with the notice.

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho earlier promised to step up checks on seaside homes built along slopes in the city other than the Redhill Peninsula.

She denied the government had turned a blind eye to the issue, saying authorities had in the past prioritised efforts on unauthorised structures in urban areas that could pose a higher risk to the public.