More than 96 per cent of homeowners at the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court have agreed to sell their flats to the government under an official buyback scheme that is due to expire next Monday, a senior official has said.

Wang Fuk Court on May 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho said on Friday that, as of Thursday, 1,914 of the estate’s 1,984 owners – or 96.5 per cent – had signed and returned a letter of acceptance regarding the government’s buyback offer.

That means 70 owners remained undecided, with only a few days remaining before the deadline on Monday at 5pm.

“There are a little over three days left from today, and we encourage these owners to seize the opportunity to sign and return the letter of acceptance before 5pm Monday,” Ho wrote in a Chinese-language Facebook post.

In an emailed reply to HKFP on Friday, the government said 1,526 homeowners – 76.9 per cent of the total – have also taken the next step in the process, signing a formal sale and purchase agreement.

The government announced the buyback scheme in February, after a blaze tore through seven residential towers at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on November 26 last year, killing 168 people and displacing thousands at the government-subsidised estate.

Prices have been set at HK$8,000 or HK$10,500 per square foot, depending on whether the homeowner has paid land premiums. Owners can choose to receive cash or swap their flat for a new government-subsidised unit under a special sales scheme.

Around 4,400 government-subsidised flats have been reserved for those who opt in for the scheme.

Flat selection to begin Sept

Ho said on Friday that the government would use a computerised lottery to determine when homeowners who opt in to the flat swap can select their new units, with priority given to owners who returned their acceptance letters before June 30.

Hong Kong Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho addresses the Legislative Council on January 14, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Starting from the end of September, arrangements will be made for between 50 and 80 households daily to select a new flat, Ho added.

She also said that the 10 estates included in the scheme are spread across the city, and include about 2,800 units with a saleable area exceeding 400 square feet.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong has said that authorities may acquire unsold property titles through “legislative means.”

Some Wang Fuk Court residents have said they felt they had no choice but to accept the government’s buyback offer after authorities said they would not rebuild the fire-hit estate on its original site.