HONG KONG, Sept. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, The Hong Kong Institute of Housing (hereafter known as "HKIH") collaborated with various other professional bodies to co-organize the "Luncheon Talk by the HKSAR Chief Executive on Long Term Housing Strategy" with Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying in attendance. The Long Term Housing Strategy Steering Committee's recently announced consultation document was summarized with highlights in Chief Executive's speech which included a plan that aims to supply 470,000 public and private housing units over the next 10 years. HKIH endorses and supports policies that are able to effectively address and solve Hong Kong's current shortage of housing supply. However, HKIH advises the Government to engage in more comprehensive infrastructural planning to tackle issues that could result from increased housing supply.
HKIH supports the Government's plan to increase the supply of housing. If the population's basic housing needs are met, public concerns on sub-divided units and high property prices can be eased, therefore enabling Hong Kong's people to live harmoniously. However, increasing the supply of housing will require comprehensive planning on issues such as the integration of transportation networks, balancing of community population distribution, adequate provision of public facilities and ensuring a green environment. HKIH believes the prime concern is that increased housing supply will lead to acute demand for property management expertise. To address this, HKIH would advise the Government to increase subsidies to both local educational institutions and related students to encourage them to respectively organise more property management courses and to join the industry after study. This will ultimately increase the number of Hong Kong property management professionals in the industry and enhance overall quality management standards for properties.
The Government has proposed the implementation of a licensing or landlord registration system to combat the controversial health and safety concerns of illegal sub-divided units. HKIH believes extensive public consultation and consensus are necessary before the implementation of such a system. To address safety concerns, the Buildings Department should first clear sub-divided units which are deemed structurally unsafe, and then the Government should proceed to strengthen inspection frequencies to gather sufficient data, which should then be analysed to determine the long term feasibility of the system. Sub-divided unit owners should also be encouraged to proactively commission professionals to reconnaissance the units and to ensure structural safety of buildings before the launch of a registration system.
Recently, The Hong Kong Police Force established an Interdepartmental Working Group with other departments and public bodies to launch the "RenoSafe Scheme". The Scheme aims to prevent consultant firms, building contractors, or any other third parties from employing unlawful means to affect the tendering and work process in building renovation projects. HKIH reiterated the importance of upholding ethical standards in professional property management. Professional property managers have the full knowledge of legal procedures involved in getting formal approval for the execution of building renovation work. They are in the best position to provide professional advice to owners in a fair, open and impartial manner during the tendering process in order to prevent malpractices. HKIH also highly recommends the employment of qualified professional property management personnel throughout the building renovation process to further protect the interests of building owners and to ensure building safety.
Ms Cora Yuen, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Housing, said, "The Hong Kong Institute of Housing supports the Government's plan to increase housing supply. However, comprehensive planning and preparation will be necessary to cope with the growing and ageing population. HKIH will offer full cooperation to the Government in training up more property management talents for the increasing housing stock. In regards to a licensing or landlord registration system for sub-divided units, the Government should consult the public extensively, obtain the correct statistics and fully understand the actual situation before a consensus is reached and a system is implemented. A judgement on the system's feasibility at this stage would be premature at best."
