There are matters we need to sort out quickly arising from the Tai Po fire tragedy but also systemic issues that need to be tackled if we are to avoid a repeat of the disaster. The fact is that Hong Kong faces two sorts of ageing problems: old buildings and the old people who live in them. Sometimes they overlap.
Hong Kong is inevitably a high-rise city, because so many people are crammed into a relatively limited land area. If you can’t build out, you build up. Since we have been developing like this since the 1950s, many buildings have started to show their age.
According to a study by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, in 2021, out of around 50,000 buildings in Hong Kong, more than 9,100 were over 50 years old. By 2030, the number was forecast to be closer to 14,000. Some 44,250 of the total are privately owned and, of these, 81 per cent (around 36,000) are residential.
All buildings experience wear and tear and therefore require maintenance. Two other factors add to the demand for building works: statutory checks imposed by the government on safety grounds and cosmetic work desired by owners to keep their homes looking nice from the outside.
Under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme, owners of selected high-rise buildings that are 30 years old or above are required to appoint a registered inspector to carry out the prescribed inspection and supervise the repair works found necessary in the common parts, external walls and projections. The Mandatory Windows Inspection Scheme prescribes a similar arrangement for such buildings that are 10 years old or above.
As of the end of 2023, 64 per cent of all private buildings had reached the 30-year threshold and a further 17 per cent would do so within 10 years.