Rebecca Lee and Jodi Gardner
Hong Kong Law Journal, Vol. 56, Part 1 of 2026, pp.313 - 331
Abstract: Rapid urbanisation, speculative land practices and inadequate governance have driven a substandard housing crisis across Southeast Asia, leaving marginalised populations in informal and insecure dwellings. This article proposes a framework that combines Resilient Property Theory (RPT) and the social minimum to address these challenges. While the social minimum establishes enforceable rights to adequate, secure housing grounded in social justice, RPT emphasises adaptive, resilient governance through stakeholder engagement and institutional flexibility. Using Hong Kong as a case study, we evaluate recent housing policies against this integrated framework, illustrating how it can reimagine housing governance and offer a pathway for Southeast Asian governments to develop inclusive, rights-based and adaptable responses to substandard housing.
