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POLICY EXPRESS · PE-DEVB-144 · Development Bureau

Urban Renewal and Old-Building Redevelopment

Old buildings are added three times faster than they are redeveloped, while the renewal authority runs deficits.

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2 pages · English and 繁體中文 · Built on the 1134211 Framework · Facts as at 25 October 2026

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PE-HB-175: Shortening the Wait for Public Rental HousingPE-EDB-147: Right-Sizing the School System for a Shrinking CohortPE-CEDB-130: Supporting Mainland Enterprises to Go GlobalPE-CMAB-120: Aligning Rules and Mechanisms across the Greater Bay AreaPE-CSB-125: Civil Service Size, Productivity and Establishment Control

The tension and our thesis

The tension

The Government is widening plot-ratio incentives and reviewing how the Urban Renewal Authority buys and compensates. But old buildings pile up, the Authority’s cash is thin, and owners have few convincing alternatives to the Seven-year Rule.

Our thesis

Renewal speed depends on who can afford to redevelop and why owners agree; the incentives, the Authority’s finances and owners’ offers must be tracked together.

Three policy problems this brief examines

  1. 01Ageing outpaces renewal
  2. 02The Authority cannot carry the gap
  3. 03Owners lack a convincing alternative

Each problem is developed in three layers: the fact, why it persists, and the consequence for the system.

Three options compared

A

A · Incentives first: plot-ratio transfer, bonus plot ratio, lower sale thresholds.

B

B · Authority-led: more funds, a higher borrowing limit and more sites.

C

C · Compensation first: Flat-for-Flat and Seven-year Rule reform.

The scored comparison, the justified recommendation with its phased measures, the implementation challenges, the stakeholder assessment and the success metrics are in the full brief.

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Facts and figures are checked against primary sources where we could retrieve them. † marks press-only figures. (J) marks IRB judgements. Facts as at 25 Oct 2026.

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