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The Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau today (January 21) released the Report on the Building Management and Maintenance Public Consultation. According to the consultation results, the Government has established the basic principle that it is the owners' responsibility to properly maintain their buildings, and has devised a long-term and comprehensive strategy to address the long-standing building management and maintenance problem.
At a press conference today, the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, said the consultation results indicated that the community generally endorsed that it was the owners' ultimate responsibility in the proper upkeep of their buildings; some form of mandatory requirements on owners should be introduced to ensure they will properly manage and maintain their buildings; but assistance to owners who are in genuine need, such as elderly owners of old buildings, should be enhanced.
The policy direction behind the Government's comprehensive strategy can be summarised into six aspects: integrating building management and maintenance; "one-stop" service; mandatory measures; independent arbitration/mediation mechanism to resolve disputes; to provide financial assistance to owners in genuine need; and regulating the industry.
"Integrating building maintenance and daily management is a sustainable approach to arrest building neglect. Our long-term policy target has to be based on this premise. 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," Mr Suen said.
On mandatory measures, Mr Suen noted that a very large number of respondents indicated 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-ˆj-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," Mr Suen said.
As to the issue of independent arbitration/mediation mechanism to resolve disputes, Mr Suen said: "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 Institute 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 Institute. We aim to resolve the issues in the medium to long run."
There is extensive support for the provision of financial assistance to those owners in genuine need such as the elderly owners with little means.
"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 (HKHS) and the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) 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," Mr Suen said.
Talking about the regulation of industry practitioners, Mr Suen said: "Any such regulation 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 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 HKHS and URA 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."
Mr Suen pointed out that the Buildings Department would step up its action against unauthorised building works and to ensure building safety while the Home Affairs Department would 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," Mr Suen said.
Mr Suen also stressed that the Government would contrive to strengthen its role over policy-formulation, law enforcement and would coordinate and support the work of HKHS and URA in order to comprehensively assist owners in arresting the problem of building neglect.
The Public Consultation on Building Management and Maintenance was conducted last year and lasted for over three months. The Government had received 131 written submissions and consulted the 18 District Councils. The Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau and the industry had held 17 public discussion fora to exchange views with people from different walks of life.
Full text of the Report on the Building Management and Maintenance Public Consultation is viewable at the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau website (www.hplb.gov.hk).
Ends/Friday, January 21, 2005
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