Hong Kong redevelopment authorities to give cash subsidies to properties owners for producing building maintenance manuals

Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority will start giving cash subsidies to property owners under a new scheme to help cover the cost of creating building maintenance manuals and repair expenses in a bid to keep ageing structures in good condition.

Wai Chi-sing, the managing director of the statutory body, on Sunday said the authority would give one-off cash injections to owners that contributed to building repair funds for three years.

“We have reserved HK$15 million [US$1.91 million] each year for the additional injection of money into the special fund,” Wai said. “We hope it can become an incentive to encourage owners to set up reserves for future maintenance projects and make regular contributions.”

The subsidy scheme is scheduled to launch in April, with the initial handouts covering half the cost of hiring an authorised party to create a maintenance manual for a building’s common facilities.

The approved party could also develop a plan outlining areas in need of inspection and their estimated repair costs that covered a 10-year period, the authority said.

Subsidies for producing manuals will be capped based on the number of flats per building, with those consisting of 20 or fewer getting no more than HK$15,000 and those with at least 50 flats eligible for as much as HK$30,000.

Owners’ corporations for participating buildings would also need to convene a meeting to establish the special fund and a regular payment system, the authority said.

The statutory body said it would also provide a lump sum contribution to each fund worth about 10 per cent of the amount raised by owners over the first three years.