Left: The Under Secretary for Housing, Victor Tai (crouched) and Tung Wah representatives inspect the water damage at T-Loft yesterday. Right: a Task Force discusses the slow progress.

At least 20 units at a beleaguered Kai Tak transitional housing complex are still to be rectified after massive multiple water leaks at the new complex caused flooding, mould and even mushroom growth in hundreds of the social housing units.

Housing Bureau last night said it was “concerned” about the situation. It said 40 apartments at Tung Wah Group of Hospital’s T-Loft been accessed for pipe repair works and 60 apartments (including some of those 40 with burst pipes) had been accessed for water seepage issues. But according to the bureau, 20 households had so far been unable to arrange for maintenance staff access their properties, while a “small number of tenants refused to let maintenance staff in for rectification works”.

The exact number of T-Loft’s 519 apartments affected by water issues is not known, but District Councillor Lam Pok yesterday told RTHK radio news he had received “hundreds of complaints” about the water problems.

Visiting T-Loft in Kai Tak yesterday, the Under Secretary for Housing, Victor Tai, urged Tung Wah to arrange “rectifications for the affected units as soon as possible,” and also ordered Tung Wah to inspect common areas and households not affected by the leakages.

Operator Tung Wah targeted to complete all work “by September this year”, according to Housing Bureau.

The nieghbouring transitional housing project at Kai Tak’s Muk On Street

There are two separate government-funded modular transitional housing projects within the Muk On Street site: T-Loft, run by Tung Wah; and Kai Fook Kui run by food charity Food for Good. Combined they offer 1,240 units for 3,020 people in need of housing.

T-Loft was built under a $285 million Housing Bureau grant and opened its doors in March 2024, with a deluge of water seepage beginning in May 2024.

Kai Fook Kui is not yet open for moving in although the 721 units are open for application.

In July, following a tepid response to complaints on the T-Loft leaks, Kowloon City District Councillors Lam Pok and He Hua-han advised the government to carry out detailed inspections of the Kai Fook Kui project before tenants move in, to avoid similar problems affecting residents.

While minutes of that meeting are not available, a written response from Housing Bureau on 26 July assured the councillors that Kai Fook Kui met all necessary standards. “A very stringent site supervision procedure was adopted to inspect the building materials used in the project, and in accordance with the Buildings Department’s regulations,” said the bureau.

Housing Bureau last night categorically said the modular construction techniques employed at the projects were not to blame for the T-Loft water seepage.

Yet experts point to “poor quality” waterproofing issues as well as poor plumbing design and construction at the site.

Speaking on a radio show alongside District Councillor Lam Pok, Centre for Building Inspection director Lai Tat-ming pointed to “leaks from washing machine drainage pipes, water supply pipes, rainwater seepage in corridor platforms, water seepage in bathrooms, walls, and door edges, and even water ingress in ventilation ducts during heavy rain.”

Under the Funding Scheme to Support Transitional Housing Projects by Non- government Organisations, the Housing Bureau can withhold or reclaim any payment made to the NGO “when the project delivery is found not up to the requisite standard”.

Housing Bureau did not answer questions on whether it would seek any funding return from Tung Wah over the water seepage debacle and poor quality of residents’ new homes.

Update: this article was updated on 5 September and 17 September as new information arose regarding contractors.