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Following is a question by the Hon Li Kwok-ying and an oral reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (May 18):
Question:
Regarding the problem of tiles falling off from public housing and Home Ownership Scheme building walls, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has taken measures to prevent the deterioration of the above problem, for example, by arranging for professionals to carry out comprehensive inspections on the estates concerned;
(b) as most cases of tiles falling off occurred in such places as lift lobbies and corridors, of the measures to ensure residents' safety in such places; and
(c) of the number of reports it has received about tiles falling off in housing estates under the Tenants Purchase Scheme over the past 12 months; and whether the Housing Department is responsible for the repair works and the expenses incurred?
Reply:
Madam President,
My reply to the three-part question is as follows:
(a) The Housing Department is very concerned about the recent spate of tile de-bonding incidents in public rental housing estates and home ownership courts. The Building Repairs Task Force (Task Force) comprising professional and technical staff was set up in April 2005 to coordinate tile inspections, handle cases of tile de-bonding and expedite repairs.
The Task Force initially focused on the spots where tile de-bonding had occurred. Tile inspections at these locations have been completed. The repair procedures have also been streamlined to speed up the works. At present, there is a total of 115 repair projects, of which 31 have commenced. Pre-repair works for the remaining projects will commence progressively at the first instant. The pre-repair works, including removing loose tiles, trimming the affected areas, preparing the substrate and plastering the walls with cement mortar, will minimise the nuisance arising from de-bonded walls and allow tile laying works to start as soon as tiles are available. Furthermore, the Task Force will strengthen the supervision of repair works to prevent future recurrence of de-bonding.
(b) To ensure public safety, estate management staff have been instructed to inspect all the walls in the common areas of estates during daily patrol to ensure that all the tiles are in good condition, and will promptly remove any loose tiles in the common areas of public housing estates or home ownership courts to prevent de-bonding. In addition, the Task Force will inspect the walls of other floors in buildings where de-bonding has occurred to ascertain the adhesion between the tiles and walls and the condition of the tiles. Preventive repairs will be arranged if necessary as a precaution.
(c) In the past 12 months, the Housing Department received a total of 287 reports of mosaic tile de-bonding in five Tenants Purchase Scheme estates. Details are at the Annex.
After sale, the responsibility for the maintenance and management of the common areas in Tenants Purchase Scheme estates is shared among owners. For each estate sold under the Tenants Purchase Scheme, the Housing Authority has contributed a lump sum calculated on the basis of $14,000 per flat to a Maintenance Fund for major maintenance works in the next 10 years or so after sale. Hence, the Housing Authority will not be responsible for the costs of replacing the mosaic tiles. However, among the five estates where cases of tile de-bonding have been reported, Lei Tung Estate is still on offer and the repair works will be undertaken by the Housing Department. As for Lei Cheng Uk Estate, which was sold in 2002, the building condition assessment conducted prior to the sale had shown that follow-up action was required for the mosaic tiles on some of the walls. After discussion with the owners' corporation, the Housing Department has agreed to repair the areas recorded in the assessment report. The owners' corporation will undertake the repair works for the other areas.
Ends/Wednesday, May 18, 2005
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