Hong Kong to replace Independent Inspection Unit with new Public Housing Building Control Group
Hong Kong's Housing Bureau will replace its Independent Inspection Unit with a new Public Housing Building Control Group next month, reorganising around 300 staff on a project basis. The government also plans a new Building Maintenance Support and Services Bureau, with service fees set to rise.
Hong Kong's Housing Bureau will establish a Public Housing Building Control Group next month to replace the current Independent Inspection Unit, Financial Secretary Deputy and Acting Housing Bureau Director Wong Yuelong announced at a government reform press conference on 30 October.
About 300 staff from the existing unit will join the new group, which will be reorganised on a project basis to enhance inter-departmental communication, Wong said. With the completion of amendments to the Buildings Ordinance, the government will raise requirements for building materials and the industry, which Wong said would improve quality.
Separately, the government plans to set up a Building Maintenance Support and Services Bureau. Development Bureau Director Ngan Hon-ho said the bureau would be a non-statutory body and would develop performance indicators after establishing a board of directors. These indicators would include the number and efficiency of building inspection consultants assigned and evaluation criteria.
When asked whether a projected service cost of several thousand Hong Kong dollars per household would effectively penalise property owners, Ngan disagreed with the characterisation of fees as a "penalty". He said maintaining property is an owner's responsibility but acknowledged that owners may be unfamiliar with relevant areas, so the authority would provide support services to help fulfil that duty. Ngan said current service fees are very low and that increasing fees for future measures, which will have greater breadth and depth of coverage, is reasonable. The government will provide subsidies for owners with lower rateable values, he added.