A two-month consultation exercise on proposed regulations aimed at ridding the city of poor quality subdivided flats began on Monday.

At a housing panel meeting, several lawmakers said they were concerned landlords might start renovations ahead of the new legislation, leaving existing tenants homeless.

Lawmaker Gary Zhang, a panel member, said the government needs to take the opportunity to hear what the public thinks about the policy.

“We roll out this policy out of a very good will to ensure the basic humanity level at our housing situation. But if we cannot manage the transition, well I'm afraid ultimately we might cause some people to lose their homes, lose their residences,” he told RTHK after the meeting.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong, who leads the Task Force on Tackling the Issue of Subdivided Units, said he doesn't think such evictions will be a big problem.

“We have talked to different parties earlier and heard about such sayings. But we haven't found any signs of a widespread issue. Also we have emphasised multiple times that under the existing landlord and tenant ordinance, the protection for tenants is still here. If any landlords break the rules and evict their tenants please let us know, we will address that seriously,” he said.

According to the proposed policy, subdivided flats will have to have a floor area of at least eight square metres and a minimum ceiling height of at least 2.3 metres.

Landlords caught renting out substandard flats would face jail terms of up to three years, as well as a maximum fine of HK$300,000.

Officials told lawmakers that they will consult the public on how long the grace period should be for landlords to modify their flats to meet the new requirements.

During the meeting, some lawmakers said they were worried people might simply switch to renting beds or guest rooms instead, which could be even more cramped than subdivided flats.

Wong said the government will look into other relevant policies to address potential issues.