A glimpse inside Hong Kong’s notorious subdivided homes

making a room on top of a shared bathroom is borderline criminal

by looking at their living conditions, I start to appreciate my life right now.

The housing condition is abhorrent and unthinkable. My heart breaks for the elderly who has to struggle and suffer like this.

This is literally breaking my heart. 7 families had to use one kitchen AND 1 bathroom.

That attic room above the toilet should be listed as a torture room.

Putting aside judgmental comments...I really appreciate this recreation of the display unit, which gives so much insights and awareness...

I grew up in a single family dwelling in the US with my relatives. At its peak we shared our house with up to 11 people so in similar ways it felt like a subdivided flat. But there’s a huge difference. In a house with detached walls, there are windows everywhere and backyard space for fresh air. It was not fun sharing a bedroom with my 2 aunts and younger sister. It was not fun not having a living room or dining room (no common space to gather except in the kitchen), but it felt so spacious compared to these coffins. Those attic rooms really are coffins.

This is so sad. When I was young, I lived in what we considered a small apartment (around 35m2) with my mum, I had my own room and my mum slept in the living room. I considered myself unlucky for living in such a small space. Pity I hadn't seen this document back than, it would make me more thankful for the living space we had.

It's really insane how HK government even allowed this to happen.

This left my speechless. My heart goes out for everyone living like this.

7 households shared 1 kitchen and 1 bathroom?! That's insane. I can't even arange myself with my one roommate without getting in each others way. I feel really sorry for those people. The goverment should be fixing this issue asap and not in 20 years. Just looking at those attic rooms makes me feel claustrophobic.

The housing issue has always been a lifelong struggle for the poor in Hong Kong. As land is such a commodity here. It's not unusual for a luxury estate to be situated right next to government rented flats and only separated by a walkway. I mocked that as "a bridge too far"!. For one to apply for a government (public) flat, the waiting time can be at least 5 to 8 years. Those who are still waiting to move into a public flat may only afford to rent one of these, mainly illegally operated, subdivided flats. The gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen in this city, and personally, I don't think this story will ever end!

Shame on you Hong Kong government 😢how dare you treat poor people like animals!

The prices are insane for such an atrocity

This is absolutely nostalgic. Noone knew any better. It was just life. I vividly remember just staying outdoors because it was incredibly boiling hot.

Not sure if this can be seen clearly but those cubicle rooms don't actually have full walls. There's a portion of the room that is open to the hallway and other cubicles. Basically you hear everything.

Hong Kong has serious housing problems. In contrast Singapore which is smaller than Hong Kong, does not have such housing problems. There's adequate comfortable housing for most Singaporeans. Hong Kong should seriously look into ways of how to solve the pressing housing problems for these poor people.

I sometimes like to watch videos about these homes just to make me feel more grateful for my living conditions.

I feel so sad when seeing this kind of living environment😔

I’ve lived in HK for over 30 years, and it’s been like this all this time, nothings changed, and nothing will. The government says they care, but they don’t. It’s disgusting to treat ppl like this, and especially in a rich city like HK.