Page 16 - URA Annual Report 2020-21

MANAGING DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Challenges Faced by Owners of Old Buildings in Carrying Out Building Rehabilitation
In order to realise these planning visions, the YMDS proposes a series of innovative and feasible planning tools including plot ratio transfer, street consolidation, changes in land use and enhancements in planning parameters, as well as the provision of additional development incentives. Such planning tools, coupled with the ‘positive’ scenario under the MRCP – namely the increase in gross floor area available for development – will result in more effective use of the residual plot ratio, previously fragmented and scattered, across the entire district. Accordingly, these ‘intangible’ resources will be transformed into ‘tangible’ spaces available for development, providing an additional supply of flats, commercial areas, government facilities, community facilities, public parking lots, recreational green spaces and more. Besides improving the quality of living, this will accelerate the renewal of old districts, thus maximising the benefits to the community under the new ‘planning-led’ model.
The URA is now in discussion with the Government on the practicability of the MRCP and innovative planning tools. In the meantime, we will identify early projects within the MRCP nodes for incorporation into the Corporate Plan, when appropriate. Individual projects will be commenced in accordance with the mechanisms and regulations under the Urban Renewal Authority Ordinance.
New strategies to change owners’ passive building maintenance mentality
Urban decay is too extensive and complex to be resolved by mere renewal works using existing resources which are far from adequate in any case. The success of urban renewal therefore hinges very much upon building rehabilitation, without which a building of 50 years old will fast become dilapidated and might even require demolition. In contrast, a building with proper and regular maintenance can last 80 years or even a century. Adopting this rehabilitation approach can alleviate pressure on redevelopment and hence save a lot of resources for the community.
Completed in 2020, the NSBR study report proposes a set of strategies for the repair and maintenance of private buildings by owners across the city in order to tackle this problem at source. Results of the study show that owners of old buildings and owners’ corporations (OCs) usually face three main challenges that hinder their willingness to organise repair and maintenance works on their own: a lack of professional knowledge in building rehabilitation, in financial reserves, and in organisational capabilities. As a result, they tend to have a relatively passive mentality for regular maintenance.
In response to these findings, the URA has formulated separate
promotional strategies targeting the public and stakeholders.
Through public education, we aim to enhance owners’ awareness
of the importance of regular and preventive maintenance. We
also reach out to target stakeholders including government
departments, professional institutes, the property management
industry and other sectors related to building maintenance, and
seek collaboration in their respective professional areas. Promotional
activities such as joint training with property management agencies will be
conducted to enhance practitioners’ knowledge and expertise in preventive building maintenance, with a view to effectively assisting the owners of different-aged buildings to conduct repair and maintenance works.
In addition, we will continue enhancing the content of the URA’s Building Rehabilitation Platform to align with this promotional strategy. The first two phases of content enhancement were completed earlier, providing owners with useful information and standard sample documents to help them organise building maintenance and rehabilitation works. In the first quarter of 2021, we launched the third phase of content upgrade, including a cost reference centre that provides more comprehensive data on the market reference rates for related works items. We have also launched the Building Rehabilitation Company Registration Scheme (BRCRS) to spur the development of a Service Providers Directory, which will allow owners to assess whether service providers have a sound system in place for quality management, integrity, customer attention and other areas. The BRCRS will serve as a useful tool for owners to select appropriate service providers for their building rehabilitation work.
12 URA ANNUAL REPORT 2020-21
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