Operator of a temporary housing development in Hong Kong must inspect all apartments after water leak

“The office has also instructed [the operator] to carry out a comprehensive inspection of the entire project [including households and common area not affected by the incident] in accordance with the office’s established procedures and relevant regulatory requirements,” a spokesman said.

“The office will continue to monitor the incident closely.

“There are numerous projects in the area that were built according to the modular integrated construction (MiC) principle and with guaranteed standards. The water leak in this case has nothing to do with MiC.”

This technology uses freestanding and integrated modules from a factory in mainland China, which undergo quality control before being installed at the project site.

Construction of T-Loft@Kai Tak began in December 2022 and was completed in February this year, with residents moving in a month later. The four-story complex has 519 apartments and houses about 1,460 residents.

The project cost about HK$280 million (US$36 million).

MiC has been used extensively in government projects in recent years, including transitional housing and bright public housing.

Housing Minister Winnie Ho Wing-yin had previously announced that the government had secured enough land to meet its target of 21,000 temporary housing units by early next year, with 13,600 of them already in operation.

The authorities have announced that they plan to complete 84 temporary public housing projects by 2024/25. More than half of the promised housing will be built in the New Territories.

The Post had previously reported that photos taken by residents showed visible water stains on the underside of the walls, from which mold and fungus were sprouting. The water damage had also caused several floor tiles to come loose.

On rainy days, the semi-open corridors were covered with puddles of water, so residents had to place sandbags in front of their doors to prevent water from entering their apartments.

The office said the operator had immediately instructed the project’s architectural consultants and contractor to make corrections and improvements as soon as possible.

Water pipe repairs were completed in early May, while pipe inspections and repairs were completed between June and July for all 40 homes accessible to households, it said.

By the end of July, repairs had been carried out on about 60 affected apartments, it was said.

“The operator is in contact with the remaining 20 or so households who were unable to allow maintenance personnel into their units earlier for inspection or repair purposes to agree a date and time to access their units and to carry out the corrective work as soon as possible,” the spokesman said.

“The operator had set itself the goal of completing all renovation work by September of this year. As it became known, some tenants refused to let maintenance staff in for the renovation work.”

Ho urged the remaining households to cooperate with the operator so that the repair work can be carried out smoothly and the problem can be resolved as soon as possible “to avoid mold growth on the walls and other conditions that may affect the living environment as a result of the delay in the work.”

“Provided the affected households respond, contractors can generally initiate and complete the work within a week,” she said.

Ho also said in her social media post that many projects in Hong Kong have been built using MiC technology and the quality of the method is assured. She stressed that water ingress has nothing to do with the construction process.

“T-Loft@Kai Tak is a four-storey low-rise building with direct water supply, which is different from high-rise buildings with water tanks. If the water pressure in the water supply system fluctuates more than expected, additional pressure reducers need to be installed to stabilize the water pressure,” she explained.

“The relevant work was completed on July 30th and residents have not reported any further problems with water ingress to date.”