Hong Kong considers doubling attendance threshold for major renovation approvals

Hong Kong homeowners could face a higher bar for approving major building renovation projects as the government considers doubling the in-person attendance threshold to 10 per cent or more, the Post has learned.\nIn an exclusive interview with the Post on Friday, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen pledged to fast-track the amendment to the Building Management Ordinance, without providing a specific timeline. The ordinance aims to plug loopholes and enhance owners’ participation in major decisions.\nThe proposals were floated after a deadly fire that broke out in Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court killed 168 people, displaced almost 5,000, and exposed serious gaps in government oversight of building maintenance projects.\nA key proposal Mak revealed was a tiered voting threshold for renovation projects that cost over HK$30,000 (US$3,850) per flat.\nThe current law requires a minimum of 5 per cent of owners to vote in person. Under a proposal being considered by authorities, the figure could be raised to 10 per cent or more, depending on the cost of the works.\nA 10 per cent threshold was considered in the previous amendment, which took effect in 2025, but it faced strong opposition from the property management industry, causing authorities to hold back the idea, she said.\n“If we brought this up in the past, many would say it is impossible, you cannot manage the incorporated owners,” Mak said.\n“But I believe it’s about time. When the public raises its expectations for building management, it will be easier to forge a consensus for our society.”\n\nShe also dismissed concerns that a raised voting threshold would be impractical to meet, and called on homeowners to pay closer attention to renovation projects that cost them significantly.\nAnother proposal is introducing a cap on the number of proxy votes an individual may hold. While the exact limit remained open to public discussion, Mak indicated it would be set as a percentage of total households rather than a fixed number.\n“In a large residential complex, collecting 10 proxy votes does not seem like much,” Mak noted. “But in a block with only 20 flats, 10 proxies are already half of the owners.”\nWhen asked whether the government would step in to verify the proxy’s authenticity, Mak said property management companies (PMCs) and incorporated owners were better positioned to handle it, as they routinely collect owners’ identities and signatures through collecting management fees and addressing complaints.\n“The government will come up with some ways to check whether the PMC carried out [verification], and whether they have done so to the best of their knowledge,” Mak said.\nMak said it’s “impossible” for authorities to conduct the verification based on the records in the Land Registry, because some deceased people might not have transferred their ownership.\n“Verification and inspection are needed, but we have to find a feasible way – not simply say ‘let the government check it’.”\nMak said the government also considered increasing the penalty for the failure of contractors and consultants to declare their interests.\nShe said that while criminal and civil procedures could currently handle the failure to disclose interests, the process was complicated because the bureau lacked an enforcement team.\n“We would leave this for the public to discuss; if they could accept [imprisonment], we would not rule it out,” she said.\nShe said a move by authorities to provide a preselected list of contractors for homeowners would be a great help.\nCurrently, making a false claim is punishable by a HK$10,000 fine and six months in jail.\nMak added that authorities also aimed to tackle the opacity surrounding owners’ meeting arrangements, outlining rules on convening, cancelling, rescheduling, adjourning meetings and agenda setting.\nShe said the purpose was to prevent tactical manoeuvres by management committees, who could intentionally delay the proceedings until the venue’s rental period expires to force an adjournment before essential items were discussed.\nThey have also seen an extraordinary general meeting requested by 5 per cent of the owners convened after repeated warnings, only to get the first agenda item as a motion to “not discuss” the requested topics.\nNoting that some owners had to go through months of procedures to re-elect a management committee after all of the members resigned en masse, Mak said they might also empower authorities to allow owners to do so when 5 per cent of them made such a request.\n