Time runs out slowly for illegal structures
Emily Tang, Hong Kong Standard
January 3, 2004\

Noticeable to visitors, largely unnoticed by locals because of years of familiarity, Hong Kong's higgledy-piggledy buildings take on an almost organic quality as they bulge with added balconies, rusty metal cages, flower racks, and rooftop shacks - all of them illegal, some dangerous.

About 600,000 illegal structures across the territory have been marked for demolition by the Buildings Department, but whether it can fulfill the task remains to be seen.

"The removals also depend on the initiative of the owners," department assistant director Johnny Au said when asked how much progress has been made.

Since 1999, the department has been conducting what it describes as a "blitz" against illegal structures.

The annual number of targeted buildings has increased from several hundred to 1,000, where it will remain despite there being a great many illegal structures to be removed.

Au said that while the department has dedicated the same amount of resources to the task, any increase from that number would be difficult. He said the target of 1,000 buildings was set by the department's teams most familiar with the districts where illegal structures are rampant.

Despite the stepped-up removal schedule, the department does not keep a list of dangerous structures to be demolished. Its definitions of dangerous structures are not clear, making it more difficult for owners to comply.

The department said it received 18,826 reports of illegal structures in 2003 and about 25,000 last year. There is no record of how many advisory letters or removal orders have been issued based on these reports.

"The department does not have a well-organised system to get rid of the unauthorised structures," Hong Kong Owners' Club chairman Shea Hing-wan said.

"Even if a complaint is lodged against an illegal structure, the department does not necessarily issue a removal order if the structure is not dangerous or does not pose an immediate danger."

Shea said a lot of owners and owners' corporations want to co-operate with the department. But with no clear guidance from the department, compliance is difficult.

The department's enforcement policy against unauthorised building works sets out seven types of structures to be removed, which include the "items constituting obvious or imminent danger to life or property" but no other details for structures in this category.

Even Au is not able to shed much light on the matter.

"It is difficult to tell you the definition in a few words," he said. "We have professionally trained staff to assess whether a structure poses an immediate danger."

Former director of buildings Leung Chi-man, now the director of housing who recently launched the ill-fated Link Reit listing, made a pledge in 2001 that the Buildings Department would remove 150,000 to 300,000 unauthorised structures in five to seven years.

The department has been demolishing illegal structures at an annual rate of 30,000 to 50,000 in the past few years.

Such a removal rate may barely reach the target set out in 2001. However, it is going to take another seven years or longer to remove the remaining structures while new ones continue to emerge at the same time.

To speed up the demolition work, the government brought about the Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance in November, imposing a fourfold increase in penalties for illegal building works. The legislation had not been revised for more than 20 years.

The maximum penalty for building unauthorised structures will jump from HK$100,000 to HK$400,000 or more. Those who do not comply with removal orders face a maximum fine of HK$200,000, increased from HK$50,000. On top of that is a daily fine of HK$20,000, which has increased from HK$5,000.

The department has sent thousands of advisory letters to owners of illegal building works, informing them of the potential danger and urging them to remove the structures voluntarily.

The compliance rate has been low. In 2003 more than 4,000 letters were sent but only 487 owners complied.

That number remained at a similar level in 2004 despite more than 7,000 letters being sent before October.

The department will now send warning notices instead.

Those failing to comply will have their properties recorded at the Lands Registry, a tactic the department believes will prove a much greater deterrent.

The record may deter potential buyers and subsequently lower a property's value.

However, if the owners do not sell the property, recording the offence will come to no avail.

Revitalizing these areas would sure enhance HK's streetscape.

Jail term sends out warning on illegal lofts
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
The Standard

Property owners who do not follow orders to remove illegal structures may end up in prison.

That was the warning from the Buildings Department in the wake of a Ngau Tau Kok property owner being jailed for a month for refusing to remove an illegal cockloft.

A spokesman for the department said the structure was found on the ground floor of a building in Wan Hon Street during an inspection three years ago.

A removal order was issued but ignored, so the department went to court and the owner was convicted and fined HK$46,800 in January last year.

But the cockloft remained, so the owner was prosecuted at Kwun Tong Magistrates' Court for a second time this year. That led to another conviction and a month's imprisonment.

"Unauthorized building works may adversely affect the structural and fire safety of a building, leading to serious consequences," the department spokesman said.

"Building owners should seek professional advice before any building works in their premises."

It is also in the interest of the owner to employ a registered contractor to demolish unauthorized works, he added.

Ignoring orders against illegal structures may mean a year's imprisonment and a fine of HK$200,000.

Tougher action on illegal structures
The Standard
Friday, January 14, 2011

The government proposes to amend the law empowering the Buildings Department to seek court warrants and inspect flats suspected of carrying out illegal internal alterations.

Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor told legislators the government planned to introduce a legislative amendment under the Buildings Ordinance to help the department take action against uncooperative landlords.

The government believes the law is necessary to inspect subdivided rooms or flats suspected of having illegal internal alterations.

Lam told the subcommittee on building safety that the community hopes the amendment will be implemented within the next few months.

The department is currently empowered to break into flats.

Yet this measure is rarely used unless there is a clear sign of imminent danger.

Lam said yesterday the time has come to take a tougher stance. Currently, there are about 400,000 illegal structures in the SAR, half the number of 10 years ago.

"We will treat all buildings the same and we won't just set priorities to do dangerous illegal structures first, or limit our scope because we have inadequate manpower and resources," she said.

It also does not matter if unauthorized constructions are on rooftops, podiums, yards or back lanes.

She believes more manpower and resources will be allocated in the forthcoming budget to address the increasing needs of the department.

On another front, the government is also planning to regulate illegal advertising signboards. But those inspected every five years by registered building professionals or contractors may be kept.

The department plans to draw up a comprehensive database of all signboards in Hong Kong, to ensure safety and facilitate control and enforcement action.

The proposals will be sent to the relevant Bills Committee for consideration.

While lawmakers generally approved the proposal, they asked that a flexible approach be taken as some illegal structures were erected before the homes were purchased by current owners.

The government will also explore the feasibility of encouraging building owners to make use of mediation to resolve water seepage-related disputes, a recommendation made by the Ombudsman after an inquiry into wrongful water charges was made.

City still has 1,400 dilapidated buildings a year after collapse
To Kwa Wan disaster left four dead, but moves to improve safety are stuck at the talking stage
29 January 2011
South China Morning Post

It was a year ago today: a 53-year-old tenement building shook. Then it cracked and fell amid deafening noise and a plume of dust, crumbling into a pile of rubble.

Four people died and two were injured in the shocking January 29, 2010, collapse of a five-storey, 53-year-old apartment house in To Kwa Wan. Dozens of people in neighbouring buildings thought to be at risk were forced to find new homes. And though the tragedy riveted the city and prompted plenty of concerned talk about building safety in Hong Kong, a government survey shows that 1,400 buildings that are at least 30 years old remain today in "dilapidated conditions".

The Urban Renewal Authority, which completed the survey last month, did not specify how run-down the buildings are or where they are located. It said that releasing information about specific buildings could hurt their property value.

A spokesman took pains, however, to say: "No building is found to be in immediate danger so far."

Despite the high number of ageing buildings with clear defects, remedies are still in the talking stage. The URA is planning a forum in April to figure out urban-renewal strategies. Lawmakers are debating a basket of new measures, including a law that would compel owners of older structures to get regular professional building inspections.

The new survey of dilapidated buildings follows up an earlier one, done by the URA shortly after the tenement collapse of a year ago. That investigation found that about 2,000 buildings in Hong Kong were a "potential danger". The phrase was not defined.

"We will not release the full results of the report," a top URA official said late last year. "Releasing such information would have a serious impact on the value of the properties concerned and this would not be fair to the owners.

"There is no public safety concern since any building found with immediate danger will be fixed," the official added. "We are talking about blocks with potential danger and we will tell these owners and help them repair their homes."

The To Kwa Wan tragedy prompted the Buildings Department to make its own survey last February. The department found that over half of Hong Kong's 4,000 buildings more than 50 years old were found to have obvious and minor defects. Most of the buildings were found in Kowloon City, Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po districts. Two needed emergency remedial work and got it.

Professor Law Chi-kwong, who specialises in urban renewal issues at the University of Hong Kong, called for more disclosure. He questioned the premise that flat prices would fall if the authority disclosed more details of its survey.

"The price could rise as the potential redevelopment value could be attractive to buyers," he said. "They can realise a much higher profit from redevelopment than owning a renovated flat," he said.

Making public such information, without naming the buildings, would bolster public and owners' awareness of building maintenance, Law said.

A spokeswoman for the development agency yesterday declined to say if it would release details of the survey results.

Earlier this month, the Buildings Department brought charges against a contractor responsible for renovation work in a ground-floor shop done before the building at 45 Ma Tau Wai Road collapsed.

The contractor, who was not identified, was charged under a section of the Buildings Ordinance regarding work that causes injury or damage to property. The maximum penalty is HK$1 million and three years' jail. A Buildings Department spokeswoman said the Department of Justice decided to prosecute after studying forensic results and witness statements. Investigators found that renovation work had damaged structurally important columns, and two others.

Questions have been asked about whether Chak Oi-luen, owner of the collapsed building, will face any charges. Police have been investigating the case but have arrested no one so far.

Democratic Party lawmaker and solicitor James To Kun-sun said if prosecutors could prove the owner had instructed the contractor to remove the structural columns, knowing that could cause danger, she could be charged with inciting someone to violate the building law.

"But it looks unlikely the owner will be prosecuted," To said.

In the Legislative Council, lawmakers are debating bills submitted by the Development Bureau meant to step up building safety.

A major step would be a new law requiring owners to conduct building inspections. Owners of buildings older than 30 years would have to hire a professional to examine the common areas of the blocks every 10 years. Those who failed to comply would face a fine of HK$50,000 and a year in jail.

The bill, finally tabled after nearly two decades of political haggling, is expected to take effect no sooner than year's end.

Other measures would equip building officials with court warrants to let them enter flats for inspections, and require owners to apply to the Buildings Department when subdividing flats to ensure they hire qualified contractors.

Property owners refusing to share costs of repairing common areas would be charged a 20 per cent surcharge of the expense. A unified scheme of building maintenance subsidies, run by the Housing Society and Urban Renewal Authority, would offer help to owners with financial difficulties.

These new measures require the amendment of dozens of regulations. Whether they will take effect soon will depend on how fast the bureau can secure lawmakers' approval.

Law said mandatory inspections would alleviate problems relating to older buildings, but the bill failed to answer some questions. Should government offer help to elderly people who cannot afford inspections? Should buildings more than 50 years old be exempted from mandatory inspection because they could be redeveloped soon anyway?

In the long run, he said, the hazards of old buildings would not be solved without addressing poverty in the city.

"The root of the problem is that we have a large number of poor families which create a continuous demand for dilapidated flats and subdivided flats," he said, "In other modern cities, these poor-condition flats are often demolished as they have no market."

Redevelopment in the collapsed building's neighbourhood has not gone smoothly. The project, undertaken by the authority alone, was scheduled to commence acquisition last May. But it is still in a deadlock, eight months later.

Earlier this month, eight residents filed an appeal against the redevelopment, saying their flats, located on the street adjacent to the collapsed building, were excluded from the redevelopment boundary. The appeal - a first for the authority - will postpone the project by two months; acquisitions cannot commence until it is settled.

Chan Ming-chuen, one of the eight residents, said the authority's arrival had ruined a deal to sell his flat to an estate agency, which had been acquiring old buildings in the area before the collapse. Chan, in his 60s, urged the authority to include him in the project because his site had now become too small to be lucrative for private developers.

Although the authority is allowing tenants and owners to receive compensation before it takes their property, only two of the 159 property interests have been sold to the authority, and about half of the affected tenants have moved out.

The authority's HK$2 billion project will convert 33 blocks on Ma Tau Wai Road and Chun Tin Street into two 30-storey blocks. Each will have 500 square metres of open space at ground level, 1,000 square metres of community facilities and street-level shops. The project is expected to create experimental "no-frills" small to medium-sized apartments.

Illegal extensions echo corrupt past
The Standard
Tuesday, August 09, 2011

I wonder what is happening to all the illegal extensions to private houses and flats belonging to lawmakers, senior ministers and even Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam- kuen on which a scandalized media reported with so much vigor not so long ago.

The flip side of the coin on this issue involves the illegal extensions to many village houses in the New Territories that Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is insisting on demolishing.

When the July 1 rally came along - with its flagship issue in this summer of discontent being the proposal to scrap by-elections unless a seat falls vacant due to unavoidable events such as the death of a lawmaker - the illegal extensions controversy seems to have been overshadowed.

The scandal involves a whole bunch of officials, not least Secretary of Education Michael Suen Ming-yeung and the long-time illegal extension at his house?

I am not calling for blood, but I believe we have a right to know what is being done about these issues.

Even if illegal structures in the New Territories are too big a problem to address without causing a major social upheaval, questions still need to be raised about the integrity of senior officials who appear to have flouted the law when they are supposed to be enforcing it.

Any abuse of this authority cannot be tolerated. Remember, corruption was rife in the past because authority and trust were abused. No one should allow our civil service to fall back into its old ways.

In the bad old days, when just about everyone in government had to turn a blind eye or be part of the corruption "syndicate," injustice ruled the day.

Then a wind of change blew over the territory when an amnesty was declared in November 1977 following the infamous police uprising, which need not have happened had the force's management stayed in touch with the rank and file and been responsive to their grievances.

The amnesty wiped the slate clean on corrupt activities committed till then, and we have had a clean, efficient and fair civil service since.

We must not allow the old bad habits to return. If our chief executive wants to pardon all offenders of the law on illegal extensions, then let's have a general amnesty also.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption may be the means to scare and punish all would-be offenders, but were they to be the only reason our civil servants tread the straight and narrow, we should be worried.

A resolute and well-led administration is what Hong Kong now needs most. Apologies alone will not bring back public trust and respect.

JS Lam served with Hong Kong police - `Asia's Finest' - for 32 years, reaching the rank of senior superintendent before retiring in 1996.