LCQ17: Repair and maintenance of external walls of buildings
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Question:
Some flat owners of buildings in old districts have relayed to me that titles to the external walls of many buildings in Hong Kong are held by the original developers of those buildings. However, quite a number of these developers have ceased operations over the years following completion of the buildings. The Government has assumed ownership of the external walls of buildings held by some of such developers after their liquidation. There are also cases in which the external walls of buildings are left unattended, be turned into "abandoned structures" and become dilapidated. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the number of private buildings in Hong Kong where titles to their external walls are not unified (including buildings with incomplete titles to part or the whole of their external walls); of the number of private buildings with titles to their external walls taken over by the Government due to the fact that the developer concerned has gone into liquidation, and the government departments involved in managing such titles, together with a breakdown of the names and numbers of such buildings by District Council (DC) district;
(2) how the Government will handle the issue concerning the responsibilities for repair and maintenance of the external walls arising from private buildings with incomplete titles to their external walls and those with titles to their external walls taken over by the Government as mentioned in (1), e.g. whether the Government has transferred the titles to the external walls under its possession to the owners' corporations (OC(s)) of the relevant buildings at nominal cost; if so, of the number of successful cases of title transfer, and the number of OCs refusing acceptance of such transfer, together with a breakdown by DC district;
(3) of the measures in place to ensure structural safety of the external walls of the buildings where titles to the external walls have been taken over by the Government; whether there have been cases in the past five years where dilapidated external walls of such buildings caused injuries to pedestrians and the Government was required to assume responsibility for compensation; if so, of the details; and
(4) how the Government will handle the situation mentioned in (1) above in which the titles to the external walls of buildings are incomplete while their external walls are posing immediate danger; whether the Government has assumed any responsibility for repair and maintenance and paid for the relevant works; if so, of the total amount of repairs or maintenance costs incurred by the Government in the past, together with a breakdown by DC district?
Reply:
President,
The Government has all along been emphasising that building owners should properly maintain and repair their buildings. Apart from extending the life of their buildings, danger to the occupants or the general public arising from dilapidation can also be avoided. Generally speaking, the Deeds of Mutual Covenant (DMCs) of a building, being a private contract, stipulate the rights and obligations among the parties concerned (i.e. owners, managers and developers), including management of the common parts of buildings and other related matters, as well as bearing of the relevant maintenance costs, etc. Some DMCs also specify the titles to and the management right of external walls. In fact, owners may manage the common parts (including external walls) of their buildings and other related matters by forming owners' corporations (OCs), owners' committees and engaging licensed property management companies.
The Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) also stipulates the responsibilities for management and maintenance of the common parts of a property. Moreover, the Urban Renewal Authority has launched an all-in-one Integrated Building Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme, providing financial assistance and technical support to building owners, including support for owners to carry out comprehensive maintenance works for the common areas of their buildings. The Home Affairs Department also provides assistance and support to OCs in handling building management matters (including maintenance of the external walls of buildings).
Our reply, prepared in consultation with the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, to various parts of the question raised by the Hon Chan is as follows:
(1) As the titles to different parts of buildings and the responsibilities for managing their common parts are stipulated in the DMCs, which are private contractual agreements, the Government has not compiled statistics on the number of private buildings in Hong Kong where titles to their external walls are not unified (including buildings with incomplete titles to part or the whole of their external walls).
For properties owned by companies, if the company, pursuant to the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) or the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32), completes the procedures for winding up and is about to dissolve, every property and right (such as including some properties that are yet to be sold in the market) vested in or held on trust for the company immediately before the dissolution is vested in the Government as bona vacantia. Among these, land properties are "bona vacantia properties" (including their external walls). In general, the Lands Department (LandsD) will dispose of the titles to the external walls (bona vacantia external walls) of the aforesaid buildings which are vested in the Government as bona vacantia by way of sale (please see part (2) for details). Unsold bona vacantia external walls will continue to be managed by the LandsD.
As of June 2025, there are a total of 56 cases involving bona vacantia external walls which have been taken over and are still managed by the LandsD, the details of which (by District Council district) are set out at Annex 1. Given some of the bona vacantia external walls taken over by the LandsD only account for a portion of the overall ownership of the external walls, the LandsD will shoulder the management and maintenance responsibilities corresponding to its share of interests in the external walls in accordance with the DMCs.
(2) In general, the LandsD will dispose of bona vacantia properties that it has taken over by way of sale. However, as the titles to external walls are not suitable for sale in the open market, the LandsD will normally invite the OC of the buildings concerned to take over the ownership of bona vacantia external walls at a nominal fee (i.e. $1,000). Since 2010, the LandsD has successfully transferred the titles of 24 cases of bona vacantia external walls to the OCs of the buildings concerned by sale. A list of these buildings is set out at Annex 2.
Among the 56 cases of bona vacantia external walls currently managed by the LandsD as mentioned in part (1), the LandsD has officially invited the OCs of the buildings concerned to take over the titles of 13 cases, but the OCs have yet to respond. A list of the buildings concerned is set out at Annex 3. The LandsD is arranging initial negotiation with the relevant OCs regarding the transfer of titles for the other 42 cases. As for the remaining case, there is no plan for transfer for the time being as no OC has been formed in the building. So far, no OC has explicitly rejected the offer regarding bona vacantia external walls, and the LandsD will continue to negotiate with the relevant OCs on the transfer matters.
Generally speaking, for buildings where titles to their external walls are not unified (i.e. not held by a single owner or company) or are incomplete (e.g. individual titles are unclear), the OCs or the owners should jointly negotiate and bear the responsibilities for management and maintenance of external walls in accordance with the DMCs.
(3) For bona vacantia external walls managed by the LandsD, the department bears the same responsibilities as other owners. The LandsD staff will inspect the conditions of external walls on a regular basis and, if necessary, will arrange for works contractors to carry out repairs as appropriate to ensure their structural safety and that they are in a good state. According to the records of the LandsD, there has not been any case of injuries to pedestrians due to dilapidation of bona vacantia external walls under its management.
(4) The Buildings Department (BD) has been adopting a multi-pronged approach to ensure the safety of private buildings. Regardless of ownership status, if it is found that a building, including its external walls, poses an imminent danger to the public, the BD will arrange for government contractors to carry out emergency works and subsequently recover the relevant works costs, supervision fees, and surcharges from the owners. In other words, the relevant fees should be ultimately borne by the owners, rather than the BD.
Regarding the bona vacantia external walls managed by the LandsD mentioned in part (1) above, none of the concerned cases require intervention or repair works by the BD due to imminent danger.
Ends/Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Issued at HKT 17:30
Issued at HKT 17:30
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