The Buildings Department's mandatory inspection scheme for illegal flat conversions has certified four units. The register lists 110,000. The scheme requires owners of flagged subdivided flats to appoint licensed contractors, submit inspection reports, and receive either a clearance or a remediation order. Two years of operation have produced four certifications. The residents of the remaining 109,996 units continue to occupy flats the government has documented, registered, and not cleared.

The SCMP reported Wednesday that residents displaced by a recent residential fire had won the right to resell their affected flats under a relief provision -- the instrument that reaches occupants after a building has already burned. The certification count sits at four. The 109,996 other owners will not receive one until they appoint a contractor and the contractor files a report, a sequence the Buildings Department's statutory notice and fine structure did not compel in two years of enforcement.