On the up: Housing Society Chairman David Lee and Secretary for Housing, Planning & Lands Michael Suen sign a memorandum of understanding to help improve building maintenance.

The Housing Society will set aside $3 billion to help owners handle building maintenance and management matters. It is estimated that some 800 buildings will benefit from the scheme annually.

Secretary for Housing, Planning & Lands Michael Suen today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Housing Society Chairman David Lee to implement the scheme.

"We are glad to have the assistance of the society in introducing this scheme to help more owners. The society is well placed to undertake this task given its profound experience and expertise in building management and maintenance," Mr Suen said.

Help at hand

The main features include:

* adopting an integrated one-stop strategy to help owners handle building maintenance and management matters;

* in addition to actively assisting owners in building management, such as formation of owners' corporations, technical support, financial incentives and interest-free loans will also be made available;

* providing comprehensive support services;

* providing solutions to safety and hygiene problems regarding common areas of buildings and tackle similar problems with the flat interior to improve the overall living environment;