Government Launches Public Consultation on Building Management Ordinance Amendments
RTHK · 4 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago8 MIN
Summary
The government has officially launched a one-month public consultation on proposed amendments to the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344), with the goal of enhancing owners' participation in building management and improving decision-making transparency . The consultation, which began on July 12, 2026, addresses five major areas of reform, including raising attendance and voting thresholds for major repair works and large procurement decisions . The proposed changes come after last year's Hung Fuk Estate fire, which exposed systemic failures in building repair engineering and sparked public concern over building management and public safety regulatory systems .
Key Points
- The proposed amendments cover five main directions:
- Raising Voting Thresholds: For Category 2 large procurement, the government proposes requiring at least 5% of owners or 100 owners to vote in person. For major repair procurement, a tiered attendance and voting threshold system would be introduced, adding two additional levels beyond the current baseline .
- Proxy Document Reforms: The consultation proposes four measures for proxy documents, commonly known as "授權票". For buildings with 50 units or fewer, each person may hold one proxy. For buildings with more than 50 units, each person may hold no more than 2% of total units or 20 proxies, whichever is lower. The list of owners who have submitted proxies must be posted in a conspicuous location in the building 48 hours before the owners' meeting .
- Conflict of Interest Declarations: Those participating in construction works would be required to make mandatory conflict of interest declarations, with all declarations disclosed to all owners. Legal consequences for false declarations would be stipulated .
- Empowering Supervisory Authority: The government proposes granting the supervisory authority more powers to intervene and provide assistance when management committees cannot operate normally. A statutory Appeal Committee would be established to provide owners with a formal appeal mechanism .
- Clarifying Meeting Procedures: The amendments aim to clarify the handling of proxy documents and meeting procedures to better protect owners' rights and interests .
- The consultation document has been uploaded to the Home Affairs Department website. The public can submit feedback by email (bm_consultation@had.gov.hk) or by mail to the Home Affairs Department at 31/F, Sudbury Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai .
Why It Matters
The proposed amendments represent the government's second phase of building management reform following the Building Management (Amendment) Ordinance 2024, directly addressing governance loopholes exposed by the Hung Fuk Estate tragedy . If implemented, these changes would significantly increase the legitimacy requirements for major repair projects and large procurement decisions, helping to prevent利益輸送 (benefit transfer) and irregular practices while ensuring owners have a stronger voice in managing their properties .
The proposed amendments represent the government's second phase of building management reform following the Building Management (Amendment) Ordinance 2024, directly addressing governance loopholes exposed by the Hung Fuk Estate tragedy . If implemented, these changes would significantly increase the legitimacy requirements for major repair projects and large procurement decisions, helping to prevent利益輸送 (benefit transfer) and irregular practices while ensuring owners have a stronger voice in managing their properties .