Ombudsman to probe Government’s lax enforcement against unauthorised building works in small village houses; comments requested

^{The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, invites members of the public to provide information and/or views on the Government’s enforcement against unauthorised building works in New Territories Exempted Houses}

The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, today (29 June) announced the launch of a direct investigation to examine the Government’s enforcement against unauthorised building works (UBWs) in New Territories Exempted Houses (NTEHs).

 On 1 April 2012, the Buildings Department (BD) implemented a new enforcement policy on UBWs in NTEHs, viz “categorisation for control and management, prioritisation for progressive enforcement”. Enforcement actions against new and existing UBWs in NTEHs would be prioritised depending on their severity and risk level.

^{The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chu}

Ms Chiu said, “The new enforcement policy has been in place for more than nine years since 2012. However, UBWs in NTEHs remain pervasive, including new works, in-progress ones, and blatant existing unauthorised structures already identified by the BD for priority enforcement. As such, I have decided to initiate a direct investigation to examine the enforcement measures undertaken by the BD and the Lands Department and their effectiveness in combating UBWs in NTEHs, and will make recommendations for improvement where necessary.”

The Ombudsman now invites members of the public to provide information and views on this topic. Written submissions should reach the Office of The Ombudsman by 29 July 2021:

Address: 30/F, China Merchants Tower, Shun Tak Centre
             168-200 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong
Fax: 2882 8149
Email: complaints@ombudsman.hk