News

On 30 July 2023, the Secretary for Development, Mr Ning Hon Ho, said that the Buildings Department had identified about 1,000 buildings that needed to be repaired by the Department, some of which had begun and would be paid for by the owners afterwards. The BD will report the progress to the public in due course. Meeting the media after attending the Award presentation ceremony for the 2023 Luban Youth Election today, Mr Ning said the Government would promote building maintenance in two directions: First, the Buildings Department (BD) would strengthen its enforcement to encourage owners to fulfil their maintenance responsibilities and carry out repairs; and second, it would provide technical and financial support to owners. The Development Bureau will step up collaboration with the Home Affairs Department, the Urban Renewal Authority and the Buildings Department to share information more systematically and focus on buildings requiring Government assistance to carry out maintenance. In addition, at present, about 2,700 buildings have failed to comply with the expiry of the mandatory building inspection notice period, of which about 1,800 have appointed inspectors. Mr Ning said the BD would urge the person in charge to start the works as soon as possible and would consider instituting prosecutions by the end of the year if he did not comply. As for the remaining 900 buildings which have not yet engaged registered inspectors, the BD will issue warning letters one after another and will also take the initiative to conduct inspections to determine whether any buildings need to be repaired.