Voluntary Building Assessment Scheme

If buildings have not complied with the fire safety direction or the fire safety improvement direction issued by virtue of the Fire Safety (Building) Ordinance (Cap. 572) and Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance (Cap. 502), will it affect the buildings from qualifying for award of the VBAS Certificate / Premium Certificate and Quality Labels?

Buildings which have received Fire Safety Directions under Cap.502 & Cap.572 but yet to have them cleared will not affect the award of the VBAS Certificate / Premium Certificate and Quality Labels.

How will the Unauthorized Building Works (UBW) be dealt with under the VBAS?

UBW is one of the Elements under the Building Safety Category. Assessors are required to conduct inspection to the buildings in accordance with the Code of Practice for the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS) and Mandatory Window Inspection Scheme (MWIS) and to record and report all UBW in the buildings. Building Authority will deal with the UBW in accordance with its prevailing policy.

If a building failed to meet the assessment requirements of the VBAS, would it have a chance for re-assessment?

No, however, building owners may join the Scheme again at any time after rectification of the deficiencies.

How many years of the records are to be assessed under the VBAS?

For the Building Management Category, in general the Assessors shall assess documentary records at least for the past one year. However, some individual items will require record checking for longer period, e.g. some assessment items of the Building Maintenance Elements require record checking for the past 5 years. If the Assessors consider it necessary, they may check records beyond the minimum requirements.

Had there been any trial assessment conducted before? What were the findings?

For making improvement and assessing the feasibility of the assessment method, with the support and assistance of the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies, a total of 3 trial assessments had been conducted which involved 20 property management companies, 78 buildings of 48 estates. The common problems encountered were:
- A lack of proper management or maintenance records;
- A lack of certain detailed inspections, e.g. for metal gates, concealed structural components, etc.;
- Although some buildings had carried out renovation works, the scope of inspection and repairs was not up to the requirements of MBIS and MWIS; and
- UBWs commonly encountered were:- flower racks, signboards, supporting frames of air-conditioners, etc.

Are there any VBAS assessment requirements or standards which are higher than the MBIS?

The assessment requirements and standards of the following two aspects are higher than that of the MBIS:

Scope of Assessment

The assessment coverage of the VBAS is more extensive than that of the MBIS. On top of the 5 Elements under the Building Safety Category of VBAS which are identical to the Elements of the MBIS, the VBAS also includes the assessment of windows (common parts only) in accordance with the MWIS and the assessment of building management and maintenance system in accordance with the requirements prescribed by the Hong Kong Quality Building Assessment Panel Secretariat; and
The Building Management Category under VBAS includes Building Maintenance Elements, Building Management Elements, Environmental Protection Elements and Value-added Elements.

Statutory Notices/Orders

Under the VBAS, if the Building Authority has issued any statutory notices/orders to the owners or Owners' Corporations (OC) of the building, the building will only be awarded the VBAS Certificate / Premium Certificate if the notices/orders has/have been cleared.
Under the MBIS, the Registered Inspector is only required to report the situation in the inspection report.

Are there any "must" items that need to be met for award of the VBAS Certificate / Premium Certificate and Quality Labels?

Yes. All the buildings have to satisfy the requirements of the MBIS and MWIS (for the windows in common parts only) and the requirements of all assessment items (except those which are not applicable) of the Building Management Category to qualify for award of the VBAS Certificate / Premium Certificate.
For the award of the following Quality Labels, the must items are:
- Building Management Quality Label
  - Under the Building Management Element, a building must have appointed a property management company with at least one property manager and one maintenance manager working full time (not necessarily stationed on site). They shall possess the following qualifications:
    - Property Manager shall be:
      - Registered Professional Housing Manager, or
      - Registered Professional Surveyor (General Practice / Property and Facility Management Division)
    - Maintenance Manager shall be:
      - Registered Professional Engineer, or
      - Registered Professional Surveyor, or
      - Registered Architect
- Building Maintenance and Repair Excellent Quality Label
  - Under the Building Maintenance Elements, the building shall be free of UBW or the UBW have been validated through the Household Minor Works Validation Scheme. (There is no such requirement for Building Management and Repair Quality Label)