LCQ14: Handling scaffolding on external walls of buildings left unremoved for prolonged periods

     Following is a question by the Hon Vincent Cheng and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (January 28):
 
Question:
 
     The fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po has aroused public concern regarding the safety hazards posed by some scaffolding on the external walls of residential buildings which has been left unremoved for prolonged periods. Furthermore, it has been reported that the owners' corporation (OC) of a tenement building had a dispute with the building maintenance works consultant and contractor, resulting in the external wall scaffolding remaining erected for as long as two years. The Buildings Department (BD) has noted the potential risks posed by the scaffolding, and issued orders requiring its removal. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) given that the Government earlier on issued orders requiring relevant contractors to remove scaffold nets on the external walls of buildings undergoing maintenance across Hong Kong, of the number of buildings involved in such orders, with a breakdown by the 18‍ districts across the territory; whether it has compiled statistics on how long the scaffolding of such buildings has been erected; if so, of the number of those which have been erected for more than two years;
 
(2) whether the relevant government departments currently require OCs or management companies of buildings which need to erect scaffolding for maintenance to declare information such as the duration for which the external wall scaffolding remains erected and the expected removal date; if so, of the number of external wall scaffoldings which have remained erected for more than two years without being removed, with a breakdown by the 18 districts across the territory; if not, whether the authorities will consider requiring relevant persons to submit such information;
 
(3) given that according to the information provided in the authorities' reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 2025-2026, as of 2024, among the Category 1 and Category 2 buildings covered by "Operation Building Bright 2.0", the percentages of those having completed the prescribed repair works were only 12.6 per cent and 35.6 per cent respectively, whether the Government has examined how many of the buildings which have not yet completed the repair works currently still have external wall scaffolding erected, with a breakdown by Category 1 and Category 2 buildings;
 
(4) whether it has ascertained the reasons for the delayed removal of scaffolding that has been erected on the external walls of buildings for prolonged periods; if so, of the details; regarding those buildings with scaffolding that cannot be removed due to delay in maintenance works, whether the Government will provide appropriate assistance to OCs and property owners that have difficulties, so that they can expedite the completion of the works and the removal of scaffolding;
 
(5) of the circumstances where the BD will serve orders on OCs or property owners requiring the removal of scaffolding on the external walls of buildings; of the number of the relevant orders issued by the BD over the past five years and the number of instances in compliance with such orders; how the Government will deal with parties that fail to comply with such orders (including those OCs and property owners that cannot afford the removal costs); and
 
(6) of the number of cases where the BD removed the scaffolding on the external walls of buildings on behalf of property owners or OCs over the past five years; among such cases, of the number of cases where the Government successfully recovered the removal costs from the relevant property owners or OCs?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Our reply to various parts of the question is as follows:
 
(1) and (2) The Government announced on December 3, 2025 that for all buildings undergoing major repair works with scaffolding nets installed on their external walls, such nets must be removed and works on the external walls be ceased. After the Buildings Department (BD) required net removal and issued the relevant orders to cease works, scaffolding nets of a total of 230 private buildings were removed. The breakdown by District Council (DC) district is tabulated below:
 
DC districts Number of buildings
Central and Western 28
Eastern 13
Islands 3
Kowloon City 8
Kwai Tsing 5
Kwun Tong 9
North 2
Sai Kung 0
Sha Tin 2
Sham Shui Po 47
Southern 8
Tai Po 2
Tsuen Wan 12
Tuen Mun 7
Wan Chai 26
Wong Tai Sin 13
Yau Tsim Mong 43
Yuen Long 2
Total 230

     ​Currently, temporary scaffolding erected for carrying out works does not require approval from the BD. Therefore, the BD does not maintain statistics on the duration of scaffoldings erected. Generally speaking, scaffolding should be removed upon completion of works involving external walls. According to the records received by the BD on commencement of works, it is believed that among the aforementioned 230 buildings, only six buildings had scaffoldings erected for more than two years, which were located in Central and Western, Eastern, Sham Shui Po, Tuen Mun and Wan Chai districts.
 
(3) As at the end of 2025, the ratio of Category 1 buildings and Category 2 buildings under the "Operation Building Bright 2.0" as mentioned in the question with repair works completed (Note 1) rose to 13.2 per cent (277 buildings) and 40 per cent (892 buildings) respectively. The remaining 1 822 Category 1 buildings and 1 354 Category 2 buildings are at different stages of building inspection or building works. According to the information available to the BD in November last year, only 46 Category 1 buildings and 236 Category 2 buildings among those buildings had scaffolding erected on their external walls.
 
(4) Scaffolding should be removed upon completion of works involving external walls and generally should not remain erected for years. The actual timing for scaffolding removal is subject to various factors, such as changes in the scale and scope of works, or other unforeseen circumstances (such as inclement weather), which may lead to delay in scaffolding removal. Moreover, contractual issues related to the works, such as disputes over works progress or costs, may also lead to delay in scaffolding removal.
 
     The Development Bureau, in collaboration with the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, is partnering with relevant statutory bodies and professional organisations to provide professional advice to Owners' Corporations and owners in need on building maintenance matters, such as issues related to works contracts and tendering, as well as property and facility management, through preparation of information packages, district seminars and more.
 
(5) and (6) If scaffolding erected on the exterior of a private building is found to be dangerous or likely to become dangerous, the BD may issue an order under section 26 of the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123) requiring owner to remove the scaffolding. Based on experience, this mostly involves weather conditions that render scaffolding unsafe.
 
     If the owner fails to remove scaffolding within the specified time frame, the BD may consider applying the provisions of the BO to carry out works specified in the order. Upon completion of works, the BD will recover relevant costs of the works, supervision charges, and surcharges from the owner. If the owner fails to make payment within the specified period after the BD issues an invoice, the BD will issue a certificate of arrears and register it at the Land Registry, constituting a first charge on the premises. Interests of the outstanding amount will be calculated at 10 per cent per annum to protect the Government's right to recover the costs. For owners who fail to comply with order without reasonable excuse, the BD will consider taking prosecution action.
      
     The numbers of orders issued by the BD concerning scaffolding, orders complied with, and default works completed in the past five years are tabulated below:
Year Number of orders issued Number of orders complied with (Note 2) Number of orders involving completed default works (Note 2)
2021 0 6 0
2022 3 2 0
2023 19 14 0
2024 14 14 2
2025 18 15 1

Note 1: There are two categories of buildings under the "Operation Building Bright 2.0" (OBB 2.0). Category 1 buildings are those with owners who are prepared to take up the organisation of inspection and repair works for their buildings under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS). Owners of eligible buildings may apply to the Urban Renewal Authority within the specified time frame. Category 2 buildings are those with outstanding MBIS notices and the owners concerned have difficulties in co-ordinating the requisite inspection and repair works. The BD proactively selects Category 2 buildings on a risk basis (i.e. not upon application by owners) and exercises its statutory power to carry out the requisite inspection and repair works in default of owners, and seeks to recover the cost from owners concerned afterwards. Eligible owners of Category 2 buildings may claim subsidies under the OBB 2.0 to cover all or part of such cost.
 
Note 2: The number of orders complied with or the number of completed default works does not necessarily correspond to the orders issued in the same year.
 
For cases with default works completed, the BD is currently following up on the recovery of the relevant costs.
 
Ends/Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Issued at HKT 19:11
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