When Law Yin-ping moved into a village house in Yick Yuen Tsuen, Hung Shui Kiu, in northwest Hong Kong more than a decade ago with her granddaughters, it never crossed her mind that they could one day be homeless – and forcibly separated.

The Tuen Mun village falls within the government’s planned Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area, which is set to become a high-end professional services and logistics hub under the Northern Metropolis megaproject.

Law, who is nearly 70, said on Sunday that it was not until last Friday that she was told by the Lands Department to move out by the end of the month.

“The department said we could only go to temporary shelters, which are for the homeless. Why should the Lands Department’s land acquisition render us homeless?” she said.

“I also sought help from the Social Welfare Department, and they said my younger granddaughter, who is under 18, should go to a care home. At that moment, I was shocked and helpless.”

When Law rented the house in 2014, she was told that it was a registered squatter and there was also a registration number assigned by authorities on its wall.