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Building professionals who are interested in providing services under the new Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS) could apply for registration as Registered Inspectors (RIs) from tomorrow (December 30).
A spokesman for the Buildings Department said that following the enactment of the Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance 2011 introducing the MBIS in June 2011, the Legislative Council also completed the scrutiny of the subsidiary legislation setting out the implementation details of the scheme on 21 December 2011. The Secretary for Development has appointed 30 December 2011 as the day on which the registration of RIs shall commence. The MBIS is planned to be fully implemented in the 2nd quarter of 2012.
"The RI registration is the first step for the full implementation of the MBIS. Under the MBIS, owners of buildings aged 30 years or above (except domestic buildings not exceeding 3 storeys) are required to appoint RIs to carry out prescribed inspections, and prescribed repairs as necessary, of their buildings once every 10 years. The BD will select a suitable number of buildings every quarter and issue statutory notices to owners of these buildings requiring inspections, and repairs as necessary, of the external walls, common parts, projections and signboards of their buildings," the spokesman said.
Under section 3(3B) of the Buildings Ordinance (BO), the Building Authority must keep a register of all persons who are qualified to perform the duties and functions of inspectors. To allow more choices for building owners and enhance market competition, the pool of candidates eligible for registration under the BO to provide service for mandatory building inspections will not only cover authorised persons ("APs") and registered structural engineers ("RSEs"), but also registered architects, registered professional engineers in the building, structural, civil, building services (building) or materials (building) engineering discipline and registered professional surveyors in the building surveying or quantity surveying division.
All these building professionals possessing adequate relevant working experience in the field of building design, construction, repair and maintenance are eligible for inclusion in the inspectors' register, i.e. registration as RIs. The qualifications and detailed experience requirements for registration as RIs are provided in the Building (Administration) Regulation and the relevant Practice Note for Authorised Persons, Registered Structural Engineers and Registered Geotechnical Engineers.
The application for RI registration shall be made in the specified form which will be available for download from the BD website (www.bd.gov.hk) starting tomorrow. The names of RIs will be published in the Gazette. To facilitate inspection by members of the public, the inspectors' register will also be posted on the BD website.
"The RIs play an important role in the implementation of the MBIS and early registration of RIs could help the community to better prepare for the scheme. The qualified candidates are encouraged to register as RIs as soon as possible," the spokesman added.
Enquiries about the RI registration system may be made to the BD in writing (Registration Unit of the Buildings Department, Room 2118, 21/F, Pioneer Centre, 750 Nathan Road, Kowloon), by fax (2625 0437), by email (enquiry@bd.gov.hk) or by phone (2626 1616, which is handled by "1823" Call Centre). Further information about the MBIS can be found on the BD website (www.bd.gov.hk).
Ends/Thursday, December 29, 2011
Issued at HKT 20:21
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