There is no question that ageing buildings which lack proper management and maintenance can pose danger to the public. In order to deal with this problem, the Hong Kong Government introduced the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS) in 2012.

Under the MBIS:

1. Buildings which are at least 30 years old (except domestic buildings not exceeding three storeys), and served statutory notices are required to appoint a Registered Inspector to carry out certain prescribed inspections and supervise the prescribed repair works found necessary of the common parts, external walls and projections or signboards of the buildings.
2. For a building or estate which does not have an owners’ corporation, the owners of all flats in the building or estate are expected to work together to comply with the statutory notice.
3. The scope of the inspection includes external elements, physical elements, structural elements, fire safety elements, drainage systems, unauthorized building works, and so forth.
4. If the Registered Inspector finds that the building requires repair works, the collective owners of the building must appoint a Registered General Building Contractor (RGBC) or a Registered Minor Works Contractor (RMWC) to carry out the prescribed repair works under the Registered Inspector’s supervision.
5. Upon completion of the inspection and repair works, the Registered Inspector will submit an inspection report, a completion report, and a certificate in the specified form to the Building Department for record purposes.
6. Any owners or owners’ corporation that fails to comply with the statutory notice for building inspection without a reasonable excuse may be prosecuted and are/is liable upon conviction to a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for one year, plus a fine of $5,000 for each day the offence continues.
7. After a notice (the preceding notice) has been complied with, the owner will not receive another notice in respect of the same part of the building within 10 years.