Proposal by departing head of Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority follows incidents of concrete falling from old blocks of flats
A parting gift from the retiring chief of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) deserves to be fully explored as a possible way to defuse structural defects that have been compared to “bombs” lurking in many of Hong Kong’s ageing buildings.
In an official blog post on his final day as managing director, Wai Chi-sing announced the body was researching legislation to require landlords to form periodic maintenance plans for their blocks and ensure sufficient funds for such work. On June 14, Wai wrote that the URA would also look into creating a new statutory body to supervise building restorations and maintenance.
For years, there have been calls for authorities to improve maintenance and inspections. The Buildings Department was criticised in a 2020 Audit Commission report for slow progress in checking old buildings. The pandemic only made things worse and the risks have grown ever more unacceptable.
One recent example was in February, when a 79-year-old man was injured by concrete falling from a block of flats in the Causeway Bay shopping district. Building owners failed to follow up on a mandatory building and window inspection notice from 2020. Threats of fines and jail time alone are apparently not enough.
