Building rehab energises society

October 13, 2019

New look:

An aged building on Fa Yuen Street looks brand new after lobby renovations. The residents have applied for Operation Building Bright 2.0 and other funding schemes.

Burden relief:

Chu Lai-chun, an owner-occupier of a flat in the Fa Yuen Street building, is grateful that various rehabilitation schemes are available to alleviate what would otherwise be a huge financial burden.

Safety first:

Owners’ corporation chairperson Ho Yuk-chun is happy with a newly installed fire-rated window and is pleased with the repair works in this Hung Hom building.

Improved hygiene:

The replacement of drainage pipework is part of the upgrades covered by Operation Building Bright 2.0.

New measures:

Development Bureau Principal Assistant Secretary Jasmine Choi says the Government will inject another $3 billion into Operation Building Bright 2.0. In total $6 billion will be used to renovate even more buildings.

Overwhelming response:

Electrical & Mechanical Services Department Assistant Director Raymond Poon points out that application numbers for the Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme have far exceeded the quota set for the first round.

Download Video| Transcript

Voiceover:
From the outside, this building on Fa Yuen Street near Prince Edward looks modern, well-maintained and clean. It is hard to imagine that it is actually 53 years old. 

Just two years ago, it looked like this - with electrical installation panels exposed on the outside. The staircase and walls were worn down.

But under various subsidy schemes launched by the Government and Urban Renewal Authority, older buildings are being given a new lease of life.

Mr Leung and Ms Chu, both in their 80s, have lived here for more than two decades. They welcome the improvements, which include a new metal gate and lift.

Owner-occupier Chu Lai-chun (Translation):
The lift no longer breaks down. It was always out of service before.

Owner-occupier Leung Ting-lam (Translation):
Modernising the lift was done so quickly. It only took a few months and that was the most satisfying part.

Voiceover:
It cost $800,000 just to modernise the lift. Add to that the other repair and maintenance work and the total cost exceeded $3 million.

That means the owners of each flat in this 10-storey building containing 19 units, had to shoulder tens of thousands of dollars.

For elderly owner-occupiers on a fixed income, it is not easy to cover the full cost of repair works.

This is where subsidy plans including Operation Building Bright 2.0, the Fire Safety Improvement Works Subsidy Scheme and the Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme, kick in. Under these programmes, owner-occupiers receive a helping hand with the financial burden of upgrading their buildings.

Electrical & Mechanical Services Department Assistant Director Raymond Poon:
The LIMSS is the Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme. This is a government proactive measure to facilitate building owners in need to carry out modernisation works for their aged lifts to enhance the safety level by adding some safety devices for the lifts. 

Voiceover:
For eligible buildings, the subsidy can cover up to 60% of the total cost of the works, with a cap of $500,000 per lift. Seniors can receive a subsidy capped at $50,000 per domestic unit.

Mr Poon said up until August 1 this year, the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department had already received around 1,171 applications involving nearly 5,000 lifts in the first round of applications. 

Even without a lift to modernise, owner-occupiers in this 58-year-old Hung Hom building have benefited from other subsidies.

In August last year, they started different maintenance works like painting both the inside and outside of common areas. Each unit was required to pay more than $130,000 to cover the entire cost. 

The good news is that the residents are now waiting for subsidies from Operation Building Bright as well as other government schemes.

Owners' Corporation Chairman Ho Yuk-chun (Translation):
The Government gave us information about different schemes and taught us how to apply for it.

Voiceover:
For elderly recipients like Ms Ho, the cost of the works is fully covered by Operation Building Bright, subject to a cap of $50,000. The other owner-occupiers can receive 80% of the cost, capped at $40,000.

As of August this year, the owners or owners’ corporations of 479 Category One buildings were prepared to carry out the prescribed inspection and repair works for the common areas of their buildings. These buildings are in 13 districts. 

Development Bureau Principal Assistant Secretary Jasmine Choi:
The Government has just announced that we are going to inject another $3 billion into OBB 2.0. Total there will be $6 billion for OBB 2.0 and our target is to benefit 5,000 buildings.

We have heard feedback from the community that they wish the operation can accept younger buildings to join. So upon review, we are about to, in our next round of applications, accept younger buildings. We will accept buildings aged from 40 to 49 years old. We are also going to accept all buildings that are aged 50 and above.

A 53-year-old building on Fa Yuen Street near Prince Edward, like most of the buildings in Yau Tsim Mong District, was in poor condition two years ago. Walls, both inside and out, were worn down, staircases were broken, and with electrical installation panels exposed on the outside.

But with the help of various subsidy schemes launched by the Government and Urban Renewal Authority, older buildings are being given a new lease of life. The schemes include Operation Building Bright 2.0 (OBB 2.0), the Fire Safety Improvement Works Subsidy Scheme (FSWS) and the Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme (LIMSS).

Helping hand

Octogenarian owner-occupiers Leung Ting-lam and Chu Lai-chun have lived in this building on Fa Yuen Street for more than two decades. They welcome the improvements, which include a new metal gate and lift.

“Modernising the lift was done so quickly. It only took a few months and that was the most satisfying part,” said Mr Leung. Ms Chu agreed that the lift no longer breaks down so regularly.

It cost $800,000 just to modernise the lift. Add to that the other repair and maintenance works, and the total cost exceeded $3 million. Those who own a flat had to shoulder tens of thousands of dollars in the 10-storey building containing 19 units.

For seniors on a fixed income, it is not easy to cover the full cost of repair works. With the government subsidies, they no longer have to worry about the financial burden of upgrading their buildings on their own.

Popular services

The lift modernisation work under the LIMSS is assisted by the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department. The department’s Assistant Director Raymond Poon said the subsidy can cover up to 60% of the total cost of the works - plus a consultation fee - with a cap of $500,000 per lift for eligible buildings.

For elderly owner-occupiers, they can receive the full cost of relevant works capped at $50,000 per domestic unit.

Up until August 1, the department received around 1,171 applications for the scheme involving nearly 5,000 lifts in the first round of applications. This far exceeded the quota of 1,400 lifts set for the round, a response Mr Poon described as overwhelming.

Apart from the LIMSS, owner-occupiers can also apply for OBB 2.0 and other schemes to cover maintenance costs.

In one 58-year-old Hung Hom building, residents had to spend more than $800,000 to paint the common areas, replace above-ground drainage pipework and other structural upgrades.

The building’s owners’ corporation has applied for several funding schemes to get some financial relief, including OBB 2.0. Under this scheme, elderly recipients can receive the full cost of the work, subject to a cap of $50,000. Other owner-occupiers can receive 80%, capped at $40,000.

As of August, the owners or owners’ corporations of 479 Category One buildings were prepared to carry out the prescribed inspection and repair works for the common areas of their buildings under OBB 2.0. They can do so on a voluntary basis to comply with the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS) statutory notices.

These buildings are in 13 districts. Among them, Yau Tsim Mong has the largest number of applications, followed by Kowloon City and Sham Shui Po.

More help ahead

In the future, another $3 billion will be injected into OBB 2.0. This means a total of $6 billion will be used to benefit 5,000 buildings.

Development Bureau Principal Assistant Secretary Jasmine Choi said they have received feedback from the community which hopes the operation will eventually allow younger buildings to join the rehabilitation schemes.

Upon review, buildings between 40 and 49 years old with an outstanding MBIS statutory notice not yet complied with will be accepted in the next round of applications.

Apart from these younger structures, OBB 2.0 will also accept buildings aged 50 and older, even if they do not have an outstanding notice.