Hong Kong development chief denies U-turn over agency to support homeowners

Hong Kong’s development chief has refuted accusations of a policy U-turn over the establishment of a dedicated agency to help flat owners with building repair tenders, insisting the agency’s planned remit differs fundamentally from one rejected a decade ago.

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho, in a press conference on Friday, elaborated on the scope of work of the Building Maintenance Support and Services Council, which will be established by the end of this year. She was asked if this contradicted an earlier statement from the government.

“I have reservations about establishing an independent building maintenance authority. I have always had reservations about combining law enforcement with support and assistance, as there is an inherent contradiction between the two,” she said.

“The independent body [the council] provides the support, while regulation and law enforcement remain with the Buildings Department, then what is being proposed today does not present any major conflict with my view.”

As part of an overhaul to ensure renovation professionals and contractors were qualified, the government proposed setting up the Building Maintenance Support and Services Council to recommend qualified contractors from among bidders.

The council, which would be established as a government-owned company by this year, would have no statutory power. However, homeowners will be required to follow its recommendations if they want to receive subsidies.

The Buildings Department will continue to oversee renovation projects in Hong Kong.

In 2015, a landmark bid-rigging case sparked calls for the government to set up an independent body to assist homeowners during bids for building renovation projects. In the case, contractor Yau Shui-tin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to offer an advantage concerning a project at Garden Vista in Sha Tin. Demand for the new body was backed by a broad spectrum of lawmakers, civil alliances and professional groups.

The then-Secretary for Development, Eric Ma Siu-cheung, brushed aside the idea, saying that it was more “direct and effective” for separate bodies – including the police, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Competition Commission – to handle cases under their powers.

“Building maintenance also involves building management matters. An independent body would also find it hard to intervene in disputes among owners over maintenance,” he told lawmakers in 2015.

Ma also stressed that setting up an independent body would inevitably involve administrative costs, which would “very likely be passed on to owners”, pushing up the cost of maintenance works.

Advocates for homeowners at that time included Vincent Ho Kui-yip, a former president of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS), who now chairs its Task Force on Building Repair, Maintenance, Alteration and Addition.

Ho said on Friday that the government’s plan aligned closely with the proposal put forward back in 2015, although the campaigners had hoped a statutory body would be established.

However, he believed that the government’s legislative amendments to give enforcement agencies more powers during investigations, and the internal overhaul of the Buildings Department, would create a more solid “safety net” for homeowners.

Commenting on why reforms took nearly a decade to materialise, Ho noted that social sentiment had shifted in the wake of last year’s deadly fire in Tai Po.

“I have often asked myself: if the government had pursued our recommendations back then, would authorities have committed such substantial public resources? It required the right sentiment for the public to become receptive,” Ho said.

“Today, the public understands that the costs incurred by government intervention are worthwhile. You end up losing less money to unscrupulous syndicates. Most importantly, it guarantees construction quality and safeguards your own safety and assets.”

Winfield Chong Wing-fai, a former Democratic Party member and a core member of the Property Owners Anti-bid Rigging Alliance, also campaigned for an independent watchdog in 2015.

He said that at that time, demand for a government entity stemmed from frustration among flat owners who found themselves “hitting a brick wall” whenever they lodged complaints with disjointed government departments.

He suspected that this problem would remain if the planned remit of the new body focused primarily on providing support services.

“At that time, we felt the government should model an entity after the Small Claims Tribunal or the Labour Tribunal – a dedicated body to adjudicate building management disputes,” he said.

“Even if you cannot immediately catch the criminal syndicates, you at least have a platform to resolve bitter disputes between owners.”

Vincent Ho Kui-yip is a candidate for the Election Committee Subsector (ECSS) Ordinary Elections 2026. A full list of candidates can be viewed here.