Integrating building management with maintenance was the key to a sustainable solution to the building neglect problem, the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, said today (October 18).
Addressing the joint conference on Building Development & Practice in the 21st Century this morning, Mr Suen said that the SARS outbreak earlier this year had all too vividly focused attention on the widespread building neglect problem.
Mr Suen pointed out that the current effort to tackle problems in building management had had limited success.
This effort included Home Affairs Department's assistance to building owners in the formation of owners' corporations and the Buildings Department's enforcement action against non-compliance with the provisions of the Buildings Ordinance.
In the past few years, the Building Department has significantly stepped up its work in this regard. The number of statutory orders issued to building owners to rectify building defects and remove unauthorized building works increased more than ten-fold from 1998 to 2002.
In addition, the department has launched large-scale enforcement or improvement programmes. It also runs publicity campaigns as well as a loan scheme for building safety.
Separately, the Urban Renewal Authority has mounted various projects to renew the old urban districts.
As a general concept building owners should be responsible for their buildings appears to be almost a tautology, Mr Suen said.
"However, difficulties arise when it comes down to discharging the responsibilities in practice, including not least accepting the financial commitment.
"Many owners are reluctant to face up to such responsibilities. Bringing these owners on board would require a significant increase in overall community awareness and support," Mr Suen said.
He said that regular maintenance reduced the need for and frequency of costly rectification works, thus translating into long-term cost savings for the owners.
"It also contributes towards preserving the property value for the owners," Mr Suen added.
He suggested that maintenance services should best be provided by the building management and other relevant professional.
"We see plenty of opportunities for building management companies to provide user-friendly one-stop services to owners, ranging from building-related legal advice to day-to-day management to project supervision that meet the various needs of different owners and different buildings.
"For example, the industry can achieve economies of scale and optimize operating costs by offering 'bulk purchase' arrangement for different blocks on the same street or in the immediate vicinity joining the same management and maintenance scheme.
"By pulling together all the necessary expertise, the industry can provide quality and efficient service to building owners in a hassle-free manner," Mr Suen said.
These initial thoughts for bringing building owners and the industry together to achieve a better living environment for all obviously require further discussion within the community before they can be taken forward, he said.
"To this end, we will soon carry out a public consultation exercise to gauge the views of various parties and facilitate a constructive public debate on the issues involved, " Mr Suen said
End/Saturday, October 18, 2003
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