HONG KONG, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hong Kong Institute of Housing ("HKIH") emphasizes the importance of building management, given the recent accidents relating to common facilities and building services. HKIH advocates the formation of owners' corporations (OCs) and employment of housing management professionals in order to ensure the safety of buildings and safeguard residents' lives and properties.
Only around one month after the lift accident in a North Point building, a fire broke out in an Ap Lei Chau private housing estate, revealing the potential shortcomings of fire-fighting equipment. Six people were injured in the accident. A spokesperson from the Fire Services Department pointed out that the fire hydrant located at the floor beneath the flat went out of order due to short circuit, and therefore hindering firemen's fire-fighting efforts. The fire services contractor claimed that a quarterly inspection was carried out last year where no abnormalities were found. While the real causes of the fire remain to be investigated by the authority, HKIH believes all these events are alarming, and hopes that property owners can pay more attention to housing management.
HKIH is of the view that day-to-day building operation has to be taken care of by well-trained professionals, especially when common amenities, such as lifts, fire-fighting equipment, and utility services, are involved. All these building services require appropriate and regular maintenance and repairs to minimize defects and failures. Since all common facilities are subject to a product life cycle, apart from regular maintenance, a professional property manager will proactively advise owners to budget some contingency funds for non-routine or emergency use or even preventive maintenance.
To encourage maintenance of aged buildings, the Hong Kong Housing Society and the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) have rolled out a new one-stop Integrated Building Maintenance Assistance Scheme (IBMAS) to assist property owners to establish OCs and provide them with financial assistance and technical support. HKIH encourages property owners to join the scheme, if qualified, so that proper maintenance can be ensured. Property management professionals can also offer their insights and know-how for OCs, such as replacing aged building facilities.
HKIH also advocates stepping up monitoring of scheme applications to avoid corruption cases when tendering for maintenance services. Earlier on the URA requested ICAC's investigation on the applied cases for funding under Operation Building Bright. As a result, the URA has introduced independent advisors to assess maintenance costs for OCs who have joined IBMAS. HKIH is in support of the measure and willing to provide assistance. Professional housing managers are capable of assisting property owners to establish OCs in a fair and open manner, and make sure the right building facility contractors are employed such that owners and tenants' lives and properties can be protected.
"Proper and professional property management is the most important," said Ms Cora Yuen, President of HKIH. "It is always an ultimate task for HKIH members to assist owners or owners' corporations (OCs) to employ qualified maintenance contractors, and assist with formation of OCs to step up maintenance of building facilities," she continued, "Owners or OCs should not solely consider the price in awarding a maintenance service tender. The financial ability, manpower resources, competency or experience and reputation of the contractors are equally important. HKIH has been organizing seminars and workshops regularly to update property owners and our members of the latest regulations and know-how. Through this we hope we can better protect citizens' lives and properties."
About the Hong Kong Institute of Housing
The Hong Kong Institute of Housing was incorporated in Hong Kong on 29 November 1988. As at March 2013, the HKIH has over 2,600 members. Together, the HKIH's members are responsible for the management of not less than 70% of all the housing stock in Hong Kong. Members are engaged in the co-ordination and execution of housing services incorporating the design, provision, improvement, rehabilitation, management and administration of all types of housing. Apart from actively expanding local network, the HKIH is forging close links with property management associations and academic institutions in Taiwan, Macau and many parts of mainland China.
