Hong Kong's government will ban developers from building nano apartments in a bid to ease the city's crammed living space.
Private homes will have to be at least 26 square meters (280 square feet), secretary for development Michael Wong said at a media briefing on Thursday, extending restrictions to essentially all sources for private residential development. The rule will not affect projects that had already received approvals.
Hong Kong's crowded living and stratospheric housing costs have been under the spotlight after top Chinese officials urged the local government to make homes more affordable.
The requirement applies to future government land sales, railway property development projects, urban redevelopment projects, lease modification and land exchange applications by property developers, Wong said.
Hong Kong saw a surge of so-called nano flats, a term widely used to describe tiny homes, in recent years. Property developers have responded to the demand for more affordable housing by increasingly parsing floor plans into ever smaller units, a trend that took off in 2015 after the government loosened regulations requiring natural light and ventilation. - Bloomberg
