Hong Kong to relax plot ratio rules to encourage private urban renewal

Hong Kong authorities plan to encourage private urban renewal by relaxing plot ratio restrictions as part of proposals to increase development potential in old districts and new towns, with measures to be introduced in the first half of next year.

The Development Bureau on Friday revealed details of the measures announced last month in the policy address, aimed at providing more incentives for private developers to undertake urban redevelopment projects.

“[Redevelopment] may still be hampered by the lack of projects with significant market appeal. Indeed, not many redevelopment projects in old districts are believed to be financially viable these days,” the bureau told the legislature.

“[We] need a new mindset in policy thinking and an innovative approach to consider the redevelopment of old urban districts and the development of new areas altogether.

“We will kick start a two-month consultation with relevant stakeholders … within October. Our target is to finalise and implement the … proposed measures in [the] first half of 2026.”

One of the measures is to relax the existing “transfer of plot ratio” mechanism, which currently allows landowners in Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok to shift their permitted floor areas from an unlimited number of sites to two other plots at most in the same area.

However, the transfer is capped at 30 per cent of the maximum gross floor area allowed on the plots receiving the development space.