Hong Kong to extend building inspection deadline for contractor checks

Hong Kong authorities will extend the deadline for mandatory building inspection orders to let homeowners vet contractors’ conviction records on a new platform launching later this year, the city’s development chief said.Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho also said on Saturday that the prequalification list on the Urban Renewal Authority’s electronic platform, currently undergoing upgrades, would be reviewed every two years and take into account owners’ feedback.“Some [records] are definitely quite severe, such as prosecutions for corruption and bribery or other criminal offences. Another aspect [to be included on the platform] is if they had made an oversight, such as the site supervisor allowing workers not to wear safety belts,” she said in a televised interview.She also said the platform would no longer rely on self-declarations by contractors and consultants.Linn added that the government would extend the compliance deadline for the mandatory building inspection orders to allow owners time to use the upgraded electronic platform to be launched later this year. But authorities would not stop issuing the orders.Under the current law, buildings aged over 30 years in Hong Kong must undergo a comprehensive inspection.She said the prequalification list, which included contractors and consultants, would be reviewed every two years. It would also incorporate owners’ comments in the new version after their buildings finished large-scale maintenance works.