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1. Only one in four orders for repairs satisfied

1. Only one in four orders for repairs satisfied
CHLOE LAI , SCMP 19 February 2005

Only a quarter of dilapidated buildings hit with government maintenance orders in the past four years have been properly repaired, while one in seven demands have simply been ignored by owners.

Director of Buildings Marco Wu Moon-hoi revealed the figures yesterday as he warned unco-operative owners that they faced prosecution if they did not act promptly.

Under the Co-ordinated Maintenance of Buildings Scheme, the department issued maintenance orders for 555 buildings in the past four years.

But only 144 have since received the required maintenance work, and the owners of 78 buildings refused to co-operate.

"Building safety is a matter of immense public concern as it affects the safety of everyone. I believe the public would like to see us stepping up prosecution," Mr Wu said.

The scheme co-ordinated by the Buildings Department involves six other departments, including Fire Services, Home Affairs and Food and Environmental Hygiene.

Starting from this year, the Housing Society will also work with the government on the scheme. The government hopes the society's participation will make it more effective.

The society will provide assistance to property owners, such as helping set up owners' co-operatives, advising how to run a tendering process for repair work and selecting the right contractor.

Thirty orders have been issued this month and the department expects 150 to be issued by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, prosecutions for failing to remove unauthorised structures more than doubled last year.

There were 1,664 prosecutions, compared to 684 in 2003.

About 41,000 unauthorised building works were demolished last year. There were 27,805 removal orders issued last year.

Mr Wu expected the number of prosecutions to remain high this year because many removal orders had been ignored.

He vowed the department would step up its prosecution campaign.

The amended Building Ordinance, which came into effect in December, gave the department the power to impose bigger fines.

People who ignore orders to tear down illegal structures could face a maximum fine of $200,000 and one year in prison. The old penalty was a maximum fine of just $50,000 and one year's jail.

After amending the part of the Building Ordinance concerning penalties, the department will start working on amending the part covering construction.

At present, the guidelines adopt a descriptive approach, such as how big a window should be in proportion to the size of the room.

The department wants to catch up with international trends by using performance-based guidelines.

For instance, window construction guidelines would refer to the amount of sunlight admitted.