Many flats built under the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) have been found to have defects. In a number of HOS projects, apartment blocks were found to have substandard foundations and defective pilings.
I was shocked when I learned about these problems. Flats are so expensive in Hong Kong. In order to be able to buy a flat, people have to save hard for a long time. Imagine their feelings when they pay for a flat which they then discover has defects. Where do they go to get compensation and if they decide to stick with the flat, how can they sure it is not dangerous to live in? When the Housing Authority allows HOS flats to be built with defects, it is wasting taxpayers' money. The authority is now trying to regain public confidence. It plans to allow the Buildings Department to check flats and to disqualify the offending construction companies. But this is not enough. It should strengthen monitoring of the construction sites, increase penalties for those construction companies which fail to comply with contractual requirements and put in place an efficient compensation system for buyers.
The Housing Authority must do its best to avoid any future building scandals.
KWAN FUNG-KIU Tuen Mun
