Wang Fuk Court administrator outlines HK$127 million refund for displaced owners

Residents express dissatisfaction as administrator says HK$180 million in renovation levies have been paid, with remaining funds set aside for refunds

Wang Fuk Court’s administrator has revealed that HK$180 million (US$22.9 million) has been paid to parties involved in the estate’s renovation project, with the remaining HK$127 million to be refunded to owners displaced by one of Hong Kong’s deadliest fires in decades.

The details were disclosed during a Zoom meeting on Tuesday, one of two sessions arranged for residents by Hop On Management Company, the government-appointed administrator of the Tai Po estate following the fire. The second session is scheduled for May 20.

The meetings were organised after more than 240 owners, representing over 12 per cent of households at Wang Fuk Court, petitioned Hop On in late April to convene an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) within 45 days, warning they might take legal action if their request was ignored.

Since being appointed in January to represent the management committee of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ corporation, Hop On said it had completed the handover of 890,000 digital files and 66 boxes of physical copies from ISS EastPoint, the estate’s previous property management firm.

The documents include payment records of owners who paid in instalments for the HK$336 million renovation project.

Frankie Chan, service director at Hop On, said the final calculation of how much each household was entitled to receive could only be determined after months of processing the documents.