Property developers are being given time to test new guidelines on the sale of unfinished flats before the government considers the more drastic step of legislation, the housing director said yesterday.
Thomas Chan Chun-yuen was speaking after a four-hour meeting with the Real Estate Developers Association, the Consumer Council and the Estate Agents Authority, two days after the developers were warned to expect tough measures, including new laws, if they failed to regulate unscrupulous practices.
Mr Chan refused to give a deadline for the end of the trial period. The guidelines agreed between the developers and the government call for at least 20 units or 20 per cent of the first batch of flats in a new project - which ever is the higher - be put up for initial sale. Vendors also have to have a price list ready 24 hours before the sale and for subsequent sales a list has to be published immediately the sales are announced.
Developers have agreed to sign provisional sale and purchase agreements - often left blank to allow the sellers flexibility while the buyers are locked in - 'as soon as possible'.
They also said they would work on 'how to better delineate responsibility and authority' of estate agents, whom developers have blamed for many of the abuses.
A source who attended the meeting said the government was going to discuss with developers including the guidelines in the pre-sale consent requirements.
The source said government officials told developers the society's demand for fair and transparent dealings was high nowadays that they must act properly.