Following are the opening remarks by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, at the press conference on the Report on the Building Management and Maintenance Public Consultation today (January 21):
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,
Last year, we conducted a public consultation on building management and maintenance which lasted for over three months with a view to obtaining a broad community consensus for us to map out practicable measures that are acceptable to the public to tackle the building neglect problem.
We have received 131 written submissions and consulted the 18 District Councils. My bureau and others have held 17 public discussion fora to exchange views with people from different walks of life.
The consultation results indicate that the community generally endorses that:
(1) it is the owners' ultimate responsibility in the proper upkeep of their buildings;
(2) some form of mandatory requirements on owners should be introduced to ensure they will properly manage and maintain their buildings; and
(3) assistance to owners who are in genuine need, eg, elderly owners of old buildings, should be enhanced.
According to the consultation results, we have established the basic principle that it is the owners' responsibility to properly maintain their buildings. We also need to devise a long-term and comprehensive strategy to address the long-standing building management and maintenance problem. The policy direction behind the relevant strategy can be summarised into the following six aspects:
(1) Integrating building management and maintenance
Integrating building maintenance and daily management is a sustainable approach to arrest building neglect. Some industry respondents and institutes however pointed out that in view of the long-standing weak building-care culture in society, the public may not be immediately ready to accept this approach. Nevertheless, our long-term policy target has to be based on this premise.
(2) "One-stop" Service
The concept of "one-stop" service is feasible. Through provision of combined management and maintenance services, it would assist owners in discharging their responsibility to properly maintain their buildings. However, we understand that it may not be possible for the industry to immediately provide such services to old buildings suffering from long-term building neglect problems. How to mobilise the resources and expertise of non-government organisations so that the industry can provide the services direct to owners in the long run is one of the key issues in our short and medium-term strategy.
(3) Mandatory Measures
A very large number of respondents indicate support for the introduction of some form of mandatory requirements on owners to ensure proper upkeep of their buildings, namely mandatory formation of owners corporation, mandatory engagement of property management companies or mandatory building inspection. Diverse comments have been received on the effectiveness of compelling owners in multi-storey buildings to form owners' corporations. The effectiveness of an owners' corporation depends heavily on the commitment of owners as well as the availability of professional support in their work. Determining ways to achieve this goal is one of the key issues at hand. Concerns have also been expressed about how to monitor property management companies if mandatory engagement of property management companies is implemented. The public generally believes that vis-a-vis other mandatory measures, mandatory building inspection is a practicable and effective long-term solution in arresting building decay. We need to come up with a proper solution to the problem in the medium to long run.
(4) Independent Arbitration/Mediation Mechanism to Resolve Disputes
Any proposal for a more effective and efficient mechanism to resolve building management and maintenance disputes is worth exploring. In response to the proposal of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, the Government is exploring together with the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors the feasibility of setting up a Building Affairs Tribunal. However, as the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors' proposal involves a number of complex policy and legal issues, the Government is further examining the issues involved with the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors. We aim to resolve the issues in the medium to long run.
(5) To Provide Financial Assistance to Owners in Genuine Need
There is extensive support for the Government to provide financial assistance to the elderly owners with little means and those in genuine need. We understand that the problem of neglected older buildings is not purely a "structural" issue but closely intertwined with complex social issues. In the interim, we have enlisted the Buildings Department, Hong Kong Housing Society and the Urban Renewal Authority to provide comprehensive financial and technical assistance to owners. We hope that the results and experience in these services would be reviewed in a couple of years and then we will extend and promote these services to the community as a whole.
(6) Regulating the Industry
Any regulation over industry practitioners should be considered in the context of the appropriate mandatory measures to be introduced. We will carefully consider different regulatory proposals, the implementation framework and resource implications. This issue will then be explored in the second stage consultation. In the medium to long run, we hope to implement regulation of the industry through legislation.
In the light of the above policy directions and principles, we will provide immediate assistance to concerned owners in the short run. We are pleased to have gained the support of the Hong Kong Housing Society and Urban Renewal Authority in rolling out "one-stop" assistance to owners. With such assistance, we believe that owners will be more ready to make use of the relevant services provided by the industry. In the short and medium term, Buildings Department will step up its action against unauthorised building works to ensure building safety. The Home Affairs Department will continue its work at the district level to assist owners in managing their buildings. As to long-term measures, guided by public preference concerning the broad future direction, we are working towards a second stage consultation to be launched this year, focusing on the feasibility of introducing mandatory building inspection and other support measures. We believe that through mandatory building inspection, owners will eventually be aware that good management is essential for buildings, thus achieving the policy direction of integrating building management and maintenance in the long run.
The Government will contrive to strengthen its role over policy-formulation, law enforcement and will also coordinate and support the work of Hong Kong Housing Society and Urban Renewal Authority in order to comprehensively assist owners in arresting the problem of building neglect.
Through the concerted efforts of the Government, Hong Kong Housing Society, Urban Renewal Authority, owners and the industry, we are confident that we will overcome the urban decay problem and create a better living environment for Hong Kong. Thank you.
Ends/Friday, January 21, 2005
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