21/10/2005

Housing Society Lends Further Support To Building Management and Maintenance

The Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) welcomes the Government's consultation paper on mandatory building inspection released today (21 October 2005).

In support of the Government's initiatives to promote proper building management and maintenance, the HKHS announced today further enhancements to its Building Management and Maintenance Scheme (BMMS) to extend the assistance to more property owners with immediate effect.

The enhancements mainly concern the maintenance of domestic buildings over 20 years old. The subsidy of the Building Maintenance Incentive Scheme for the maintenance of the common parts of buildings relating to safety and hygiene improvement will be raised from 10% of the total cost to 20% of the total cost, but capping at $3,000 per unit as before. In addition, the eligibility requirement on the upper limit of the number of flats will be relaxed from not more than 100 units to 200 units.

"The Building Maintenance Incentive Scheme aims at encouraging property owners to carry out maintenance works on the common parts for the proper upkeep of their buildings. As these works generally cost less than $30,000 per unit, the extra 10% incentive increment will allow more owners to benefit in full the $3,000 incentive. And about 500 additional buildings will be able to enjoy our financial assistance as a result of the relaxation on the number of flat units," said Miss L C Wong, Executive Director of the HKHS.

"We have been constantly reviewing and enhancing the BMMS with a view to encouraging more participation in building management and maintenance. We hope more owners will be motivated to take responsibility in managing and maintaining their buildings, which will help alleviate the problem of urban decay and ultimately contribute to a better living environment," Miss Wong added.

In April, the HKHS adjusted the eligibility requirement in the annual ratable value of properties from $60,000 to $66,000 for buildings in the urban districts and from $45,000 to $50,000 for those in the New Territories. Earlier on, to help elderly owners with financial difficulties in carrying out home renovation, the HKHS also provided financial assistance amounting to 50% of the loan, up to a maximum of $10,000, to those elderly owners who live on Comprehensive Social Security Allowance or enjoy free Government medical services.

To facilitate owners to seek assistance in property management and maintenance, the HKHS has already opened four Property Management Advisory Centres in Sham Shui Po, Tsuen Wan, Yau Tsim Mong and Central & Western. A fifth centre will be officially opened in To Kwa Wan shortly while the sixth centre in Hong Kong East will come into being towards the end of this year. In the coming year, the HKHS will operate two to three more centres in the New Territories and Kowloon so that property owners will have convenient access to the services at their doorsteps.

In line with its efforts to improve building management and maintenance, the HKHS also supports the Government's proposal of establishing a Voluntary Building Classification Scheme (VBCS) to give accreditation to buildings which have successfully gone through assessment on various aspects of building management and maintenance. In fulfillment of its social mission to improve housing for society, the HKHS is willing to operate the scheme in collaboration with other professional bodies in the industry.

Miss Wong said, "To plough back to society, we are pleased to make use of our experiences, expertise and resources and make concerted efforts with the building and housing industry in administering the VBCS for the benefit of the community at large."

BMMS has received good response since its launch in February. As at today, close to 400 applications for the incentive and loan schemes have been received. In the past eight months, the HKHS has assisted some 160 buildings in the formation of Owners Incorporations (of which 110 already have the Owners Incorporations in place), granted incentives to 20 buildings to carry out building maintenance and approved home renovation loans for 68 owners.