Landlord spruces up Hong Kong’s coffin homes

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 7): If you are claustrophobic, do not read this. No, this is not something out of the horror of Edgar Allan Poe’s novels but a creation born out of a land scarce Hong Kong.

A few weeks ago, we ran a story about a report by Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) that Emperor International Holdings is planning to launch a condominium project where each unit measures 61.4 sq ft.

We in Malaysia are amazed by how small some of Hong Kong’s homes are and the latest story to come out of the metropolis is that of local entrepreneur Sandy Wong who is renting out “space capsule” pods in apartments.

The SCMP report described the properties: “The capsule homes, manufactured in Guangzhou, are around two metres long and 1.1 metres high, or about 25 sq ft.

“The pods, a modern twist on the capsule hotel concept which originated in Japan, are leased out for between HK$2,800 [RM1,520] and HK$4,500 for a minimum one-month stay, with lodgers sharing a kitchen, bathroom and common area.

“They come equipped with a mattress, pillow, bedding, three different lights, outlets for charging devices and a mini fire extinguisher.”

Those not familiar with Hong Kong’s housing environment would wonder how anyone can live long term in such accommodations but Wong’s creation is actually a massive improvement on the usual subdivided apartments or “cubicle homes”.

Some locals have cynically called the cubicle homes “coffin homes”.

“So many people in Hong Kong are living in cubicle homes or partitioned flats, but the conditions are really bad. There’s no proper ventilation, the places are infested with bugs and they smell,” he was quoted as telling the SCMP.   

His space capsules are also clean and have “key-card access, air-conditioning and dreamy blue lighting”, according to the report by SCMP.

And business for Wong is good. Ten capsules in the first apartment put up for rent were all taken in 15 days, reported the SCMP.

Food for thought…