Hong Kong’s housing chief has revealed that many existing subdivided apartments do not meet the proposed minimum standards, citing the results of an official survey which show that around a quarter of these units are smaller than necessary and that around 10% have no windows.

Housing Secretary Winnie Ho Wing-yin told lawmakers on Monday that the major problem for the existing 110,000 subdivided apartments was meeting size requirements.

The government plans to regulate shoebox-shaped homes, divided from a standard apartment into several smaller spaces, through legislation requiring standards proposed next year.

Ho said an official survey found that 26 percent of apartments were smaller than the required 86 square feet and only about 10 percent had no windows.

The minister earlier told the Post that a consultant commissioned by the government had looked at 2,600 subdivided apartments in the city.

The administration later estimated that about 30 percent of existing subdivided housing would not meet the proposed overall criteria and that the remainder would require minor repair to meet the standards.

In addition to size and window requirements, the proposed standards include a minimum height of 2 m (6.6 feet) from floor beams to ceiling and 2.3 m to ceiling. Apartments must also be equipped with at least one operable window and a toilet with suitable partitions, and meet fire and structural safety requirements.