A three-month public consultation on Mandatory Building Inspection has been launched. Secretary for Housing, Planning & Lands Michael Suen said today there is an urgent need for the Government to introduce the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme.

The first consultation on Building Management & Maintenance saw community consensus on owners' responsibility to properly maintain their buildings, including bearing the financial costs.

"The community also supports the Government in introducing mandatory building inspections," Mr Suen said.

5 principals

The Government is launching the second-stage consultation seeking views on the implementation details of the scheme. It has adopted five principles:

* the scheme should cover essential items to ensure public safety, but not cause undue burden to owners;

* the scheme should be easy to understand and comply with;

* while owners have the ultimate responsibility to keep their buildings under good repair, appropriate assistance should be made available to owners in need;

* support measures should be introduced to ensure the quality of service providers; and,

* the scheme should be easy to administer.

With these principles, the Government proposes:

* owners of private buildings 30 years or older engage qualified inspectors to check their buildings and undertake repairs;

* inspections be done every seven years; and,

* inspection items to cover those in the common areas like external walls, structural elements, drainage, building fire safety elements, and unauthorised building works posing imminent danger.

Window checks

In response to the spate of window failures this year, the Government has introduced measures to help owners maintain windows and enhance awareness.

The Government has also formed two options for mandatory window inspection involving different levels of regulation to be imposed on owners, including regular window inspections and requiring owners to carry out one-off checks within a specified time.

The Government will listen to views from all sectors before making a decision on window inspections, due to the sheer number of windows involved, the fact that entry into private premises is usually required to inspect and maintain windows, the burden on the public, and the resources and difficulties involved in implementing mandatory checks.

Support package

To facilitate inspections, the Government will introduce a package of support measures, including ensuring the professional standard of service providers, promulgating guidelines on and setting standards of building inspection and rectification for service providers, auditing inspection reports, publishing a guide for owners, and soliciting the agreement of non-government organisations to publish advisory fee levels.

The Government will also consider establishing a voluntary building classification scheme run by non-government organisations to give good ratings and recognition to buildings with proper management and maintenance. It will explore the need for and feasibility of further improving the mechanism of resolving building management and maintenance disputes.

"The Government, in past months, has already put in place a host of short- to medium-term measures. The various types of assistance have been well received by the community and have made significant headway in demonstrating the benefits of proper building care," Mr Suen said.

The consultation document and leaflets can be downloaded here. Views can be emailed to bmm@hplb.gov.hk.