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In response to media enquiries concerning the issue of occupation permit (OP) to 7 York Road in spite of certain suspected unauthorised building works (UBWs) inside, a spokesman for the Buildings Department (BD) responded today (February 15) as follows:
According to information and records on files, the staff of BD, upon the receipt of an application for OP from the authorised person (AP) concerned on January 22, 2007, conducted a site inspection of the subject premises on January 24, 2007 in accordance with the established procedures. The inspection revealed that the construction of the house did not contravene the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) (BO) or other relevant enactments. The building works were also completed in accordance with the approved building plans, and no UBWs as reported by the media recently were noted. An OP was thus issued on February 2, 2007, stipulating that the building is a two-storey single family house for domestic use, and the one-storey covered carpark and swimming pool situated on the lower ground floor of the house is for non-domestic use.
The BD took immediate follow-up actions after the media reported this Monday (February 13) that there were suspected UBWs inside numbers 5A and 7 York Road. BD staff was deployed on yesterday (February 14) morning to visit the above mentioned address with a view to conducting an inspection inside the subject premises, but was unsuccessful in gaining entry. Following the established procedures, BD staff left their contact information behind and requested the property owner or occupants to contact the BD so that an inspection inside the premises could be arranged as soon as possible.
The BD has contacted today the AP appointed by the owner, and has made an appointment for site inspection tomorrow (February 16) to assess the situation in detail so as to facilitate the Department's follow up action.
Pursuant to the requirements of the BO, any new building may only be occupied after the Building Authority has issued an OP. Upon completion of the building works for the new building, the AP, registered structural engineer and registered contractor responsible for the works are required to submit a certificate of completion of building works, as well as an application for OP to the BD.
In accordance with its established procedures for processing OP applications, before issuing an OP, the BD will deploy its staff to conduct a site inspection of the concerned building to confirm that the building works has been completed in accordance with the certificate of completion of building works submitted by the AP and the approved building plans, and that the building is structurally safe.
Ends/Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Issued at HKT 21:11
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