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A spokesman for the Buildings Department (BD) said today (February 17) that the department had already issued a letter to the owner of Nos 5A and 7 York Road advising him to arrange for demolition of the unauthorised building works (UBW) and rectification of the situation that contravened the law as soon as possible. Since the owner had appointed an authorised person (AP) to coordinate the remedial works, the department had also required the owner to submit a work programme for the proposed remedial works via the AP within one week (before February 24).
According to the results of the inspection conducted last night (February 16) and initial assessment, the structure of the houses at Nos 5A and 7 York Road was generally safe. However, UBWs were found there. According to the spokesman, UBWs were found on the ground floor yard and main roof and the balcony on 1/F was enclosed in the house at No 5A York Road.
UBWs at No 7 York Road included:
- a basement (about 19m x 11m x 3.5m high) constructed underneath the lower G/F of the house;
- glass windows were installed at the bottom of the swimming pool; and
- a foot-bridge was constructed at the upper ground floor level of No 7 connecting to the 1/F of No 5A.
According to the prevailing enforcement policy, the UBWs mentioned above were actionable UBWs for priority enforcement.
The BD was following up the UBWs at Nos 5A and 7 York Road, in various aspects. The department would study the inspection results in details, check the file records and make assessments with an aim of taking appropriate enforcement action according to the Buildings Ordinance (Cap.123) (BO) and prevailing enforcement policy.
In view of the recent media reports saying that the basement at No 7 York Road had already existed before the occupation permit (OP) for the house was issued, which may constitute an offence under the BO in carrying out building works without having first obtained approval and consent from the Building Authority, or knowingly misrepresenting a material fact in any plan or certificate submitted to the Building Authority, the BD had initiated investigation. The department has already invited all relevant parties, including the AP, registered structural engineers, registered contractors and the property owner concerned, to provide information for investigation.
As mentioned in the BD's response earlier, according to information and records on files, the staff of BD, upon the receipt of an application for OP from the 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 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.
Ends/Friday, February 17, 2012
Issued at HKT 22:59
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