Hong Kong to set up new body to oversee building renovations in regulatory overhaul

Hong Kong will establish a dedicated body to oversee building renovations as part of a wide-ranging overhaul that includes restructuring the Buildings Department and tightening regulation of contractors.

The move was revealed on Thursday as Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and his ministers offered a formal apology over the deadly blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po last November.

His administration was establishing a Building Maintenance Support and Services Council as part of the reforms, the finance minister said.

“The government will establish the Building Maintenance Support and Services Council to take a more proactive approach to supporting property owners and offering agency services,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said.

Chan added that the government aimed to complete the registration of the council, which would be a company wholly owned by the Financial Secretary Incorporated, and appoint its board of directors by the end of this year.

The recruitment of a CEO and other personnel for the new body was already under way.

He said the body would help homeowners whose buildings were undergoing maintenance and operating on a self-financing basis, with charges kept at a “reasonable” level.

He added that HK$300 million (US$38.24 million) had been earmarked for the initiative, comprising HK$100 million in start-up capital and HK$200 million in subsidies for homeowners.

According to authorities, the council will assign inspection consultants to property owners, handle tendering and assessments for supervision consultants and contractors and regularly evaluate performance to ensure project quality is upheld.

It will also provide independent advice at key points once renovation works begin.

In the long run, the council will take over the various building maintenance subsidy schemes currently administered by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA).

The government will discuss the details with the URA and announce a concrete timetable in due course.

Authorities will also restructure the Buildings Department by creating the New Buildings Division and the Existing Buildings Division to bolster leadership and improve inter-agency coordination.

Authorities said a “district chief” system would be introduced to tighten regulation of existing buildings, dividing the city into 10 zones. Under the scheme, Buildings Department officers will serve as “district chiefs”, heading dedicated teams of in-house professional and technical personnel.

The teams would enforce the Buildings Ordinance, providing end-to-end oversight across all stages of repairs for properties served with mandatory building inspection notices, the government added.

To strengthen internal oversight, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun, who is now acting secretary for housing, said that the Buildings Department would also set up a Dedicated Audit and Monitoring Section reporting directly to the director of buildings.

The government added that the new unit would independently review the department’s operations and scrutinise enforcement duties delegated to the Housing Bureau’s forthcoming Public Housing Building Control Section.

The government also said it would target external stakeholders such as contractors and professionals by overhauling operational workflows, regulatory oversight and works approval procedures, aiming to eliminate collusive networks and impose stiffer penalties.

By the end of the year, the government will table a bill to amend the Buildings Ordinance, introducing a new category for large-scale maintenance and renovation that will put them under tighter supervision and at risk of harsher penalties, signalling a shift from an over-reliance on industry self-regulation to a more proactive regulatory stance by the department.

The proposed amendments would also strengthen the audit and inspection regime, substantially raise maximum fines for non-compliance, introduce new offences and elevate building and fire safety standards, authorities said.

The government added that it would establish an Expert Panel on Major Building Maintenance, led by the Development Bureau and featuring key industry figures alongside leading engineering experts and academics. The panel will help draft overarching standards, principles, and guidelines for major renovation projects.