Hong Kong Building Management Industry

Introduction

The following paragraphs will reveal the detail of the proposed statutory licensing regime for Hong Kong building management industry and the licensing mechanism of it.

Owner’s Responsibilities

Most of the buildings in Hong Kong are multi-storey buildings. The properties owners will be mostly jointly own the common parts of the building. Therefore, there is jointly responsibility of all properties owners to maintain the common parts and facilities of the building. It is to ensure safety and good condition of the building since the properties owners will be liable to any accidents or injuries occur.

Currently, the building management in most of the Hong Kong buildings relies on the property management companies (PMCs).

Core value of Property Management Company in the Industry

PMCs play a vital role in building management industry with different specialized expertise including property management services, management of property environment, building repair and maintenance, finance and asset management, facility management and legal knowledge. Their work also involves liaison with various non-governmental and governmental bodies.

Present State of the Property Management Industry

Currently, around 24,000 out of 40,000 private buildings are managed by PMCs. Another 9,000 buildings are managed by OCs or other forms of resident organisations. The remaining mainly old tenement building around 7,000 which do not employ a PMC, and do not have an OC or any form of resident organization. As to the age of the buildings, some 17,000 buildings are aged 30 years or above and some 4,000 buildings aged 50 years or above.

Government