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    Following is a question by the Hon CHeung Hok-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (June 22):

Question:

    It has been reported that after purchasing their flats under the Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS"), some public rental housing residents altered the layouts of their flats, for example, by converting kitchens into bedrooms or balconies into kitchens.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether the owners of TPS flats are allowed to alter the layouts of their flats under the Deeds of Mutual Covenant concerned; if so, of the reasons for that; if not, how the relevant authorities deal with cases of unauthorized alterations to the layouts of flats and whether any penalties have been imposed in respect of such cases;

(b) of the procedure to be followed by owners of TPS flats for applying to alter the layouts of their flats, and the respective numbers of such applications received and approved by the relevant authorities in the past five years as well as the criteria for vetting and approving such applications; and

(c) whether the relevant authorities have deployed staff to carry out regular inspections to check if the owners of TPS flats have made unauthorized alterations to the layouts of their flats?


Reply:

Madam President,

    Like private buildings, buildings in public housing estates sold under the Tenants Purchase Scheme are subject to statutory control under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123).  The Housing Department has been delegated the authority to enforce statutory controls in buildings of Home Ownership Scheme courts and Tenants Purchase Scheme estates.  The Independent Checking Unit of the Housing Department carries out these building control duties in line with Buildings Department?s practice.  The Deed of Mutual Covenant of a Tenants Purchase Scheme estate covers mainly the daily management of the public facilities and common areas of the estate and its buildings.  There is no express provision governing alterations to the layout of flats.

    My reply to the three-part question is as follows:

(a) Alterations to internal partitions not involving building structure are exempted provided that such alterations would not contravene the Buildings Ordinance.  There is no need to seek permission.  For alterations to partitions other than those exempted, prior approval under the Buildings Ordinance must be obtained before any building works are carried out.  

    If alteration works in contravention of the Buildings Ordinance are carried out in a Tenants Purchase Scheme flat, the Independent Checking Unit of the Housing Department will issue a warning letter to the flat owner requesting reinstatement.  If the warning is unheeded, the Independent Checking Unit will issue an order under the Buildings Ordinance.  In the case of non-compliance, the Buildings Department may initiate prosecution.  Since implementation of the Tenants Purchase Scheme in 1998, no warning or prosecution has been initiated against any unauthorised alterations to partitions.  The Housing Department has recently received reports about alterations to the partitions in some of the flats under the Tenants Purchase Scheme.  The Independent Checking Unit had followed up the cases and concluded that the alterations in question had not contravened the Buildings Ordinance.

(b) Owners of Tenants Purchase Scheme flats who wish to carry out alteration works involving building structure should apply to the Independent Checking Unit of the Housing Department through an Authorised Person registered under the Buildings Ordinance.  In case of doubt, owners can approach the Independent Checking Unit of the Housing Department for clarification.

    The Independent Checking Unit will grant approval to proposals for alteration works in accordance with the requirements under the Buildings Ordinance.  In the past five years, the Independent Checking Unit has not received any application for alterations of partitions from Tenants Purchase Scheme flat owners.

(c) As mentioned above, after sale, Tenants Purchase Scheme flats are the same as private flats.  The Independent Checking Unit does not conduct regular inspections of the flats but will carry out investigations upon receipt of complaints.  If the alteration contravenes the Buildings Ordinance, warning or statutory orders under the Buildings Ordinance mandating reinstatement will be issued.

Ends/Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Issued at HKT 12:16

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