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Following is a question by the Hon Fred Li and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, in the Legislative Council today (November 25):
Question:
I have learnt that upon the sale of public rental housing (PRH) units and divestment of retail and car parking facilities by the Hong Kong Housing Authority, the owners' corporation (OC) of a Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) estate came to know that it had the right to control the external walls of the shopping mall in its estate only when a commercial organisation wishing to erect an advertisement sign on the external wall concerned consulted it on the relevant matter. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the shopping malls or car parks in existing TPS estates the external walls of which are under the control of the OCs concerned, the names of such shopping malls and car parks, as well as the titles to their external walls;
(b) of the rights and obligations of the Ocs concerned regarding the above external walls, and whether they may collect fees from the organisations which erect advertisement signs on the external walls; and whether the Ocs concerned are responsible for the maintenance of such external walls and the procurement of third party risks insurance;
(c) whether, upon the sale of PRH units, the authorities have ensured that the Ocs concerned have procured insurance for all the areas under their control and are aware of their rights and obligations; whether at present the Ocs of all TPS estates have procured insurance for the areas under their control; and
(d) whether the authorities will consider publishing on the government web sites information on the distribution of the right to the control of the common areas in TPS estates, including which parts are under the control of the Housing Department, The Link Management Limited and Ocs respectively, as well as their respective rights and obligations?
Reply:
President,
Broadly speaking, the titles and right of control of external walls of commercial and car parking facilities in public rental housing estates sold by the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA), i.e. Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) estates can largely be categorised under three modes of arrangement.
The first mode is applicable to free-standing commercial and car-park buildings. The titles and right of control of external walls of such buildings belong to the owners of these commercial and car parking facilities.
The second mode is applicable to integrated development of residential premises and commercial and car parking facilities. The titles and right of control of external walls of commercial and car-park facilities belong to the owners of these commercial and parking facilities.
The third mode is applicable to shops on lower floors of residential buildings. The external walls of such buildings are common areas, the titles and right of control of which are jointly owned by all the owners of the TPS estates through their owners' corporation (OC).
My reply to the four parts of the question is given below:
(a) As mentioned above, for the existing TPS estates, only the titles and right of control of external walls of shops of those to which the third mode of arrangement is applicable are jointly owned by owners of the relevant estates through their OCs.
(b) Proceeds related to the signs, signboards and other installations on the external walls belong to the owners of the external walls. Thus, OCs owning the titles and right of control of the external walls of the buildings to which the aforesaid third mode of arrangement is applicable may charge for the signs, signboards and other installations erected on these external walls. According to the Deed of Mutual Covenant (DMC), OCs shall maintain these external walls in good condition and be responsible for the management and maintenance of these external walls. They shall take out and maintain appropriate insurances, including fire insurance and third party risks insurance.
(c) During the first two years upon the sale of a TPS estate, the HA acted as the DMC manager and would appoint a property management agency (PMA) for the management of the estate. The HA would also take out public liability insurance cover for the "common areas" of the estate in accordance with the DMC. After the setting up of the OC, the management rights and liabilities will be transferred to the OC concerned from the HA, and the PMA appointed by the OC will be responsible for managing the estate, including effecting insurance cover for the "common areas" of the estate in accordance with the DMC.
Since the handover of the management rights of the last TPS estate to the OC concerned in 2008, all 39 TPS estates are managed by their own OCs. After the sale of the TPS estates, the HA remains to be one of the owners of the estates. Representatives of the HA participate in the work of the OCs' management committees and take the opportunity to remind the OCs and their PMAs to comply with the DMC in managing the estates.
(d) It is provided in the DMC that a copy of the Deed, its Chinese translation and plans showing the "common areas" of the estate should be kept at the management office of the housing estate for inspection by relevant owners, tenants and residents. The professional property management staff employed by the OC will help owners, tenants and residents to understand issues on building management, such as the rights and obligations of the OC and the extent of "common areas" of the estate.
To enable the OCs of TPS estates to know more about estate maintenance and management, the HA set up a Tenants Purchase Scheme Advisory Team (TPSAT) in mid-June 2009. The TPSAT will visit the OCs of TPS estates to explain to them issues on building management, including the extent of "common areas" in the estate and the rights and obligations concerned, to enhance their knowledge in this respect.
Ends/Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:10
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