1. What are the fees and charges for joining VBAS?
   • The Fees and Charges collected by the Hong Kong Quality Building Assessment Panel are as follows:
   • Registration of Assessor

     • Enrollment Fee of Training Programme	: HK$500
       Registration Fee	: HK$1,000 (for 2 years)
       Renewal Fee	: HK$1,000 (for 2 years)

   • Building Certification
     • Application Fee: HK$500
     • Certification Fee*:

     • 100 domestic units or less	: HK$10,000
       101-2,000 domestic units	: HK$20,000
       2,001 – 4,000 domestic units	: HK$30,000
       4,001 domestic units or more	: HK$40,000

     • *Half fees will be charged to applications under Scenario 2
   • Building Assessment Fee
     • For Building Assessment, building owners are to pay to VBAS Assessors appointed by them directly. The fees are to be mutually agreed between the building owners and the VBAS Assessors.
2. What is the difference between "Application Fee" and "Certification Fee"? Why two kinds of charges are required?
   • Fees for application for Building Certification are to be paid in two separate stages. At the time of making application for building certification to the Hong Kong Quality Building Assessment Panel Secretariat, building owners are required to pay the Application Fee first; whereas at the time of final submission of Assessment Reports after completion of the building assessment, the Certification Fee is to be paid;
   • Application Fee is required for each Single or Phased Application;
   • Upon receipt of application and the Application Fee, the Hong Kong Quality Building Assessment Panel Secretariat shall vet the building information and conduct site check to confirm if the application is accepted and the scope of building certification. If the application is not accepted, “Certification Fee” will not be required. However, Application Fee is non- refundable.; and
   • Certification Fee is determined by no. of domestic units of the whole development with reference to DMC/Sub-DMC/OP as appropriate. For Phased Application, Certification Fee shall be paid on pro-rata basis according to the total no. of phases of the same estate or development. Certification Fee is non-refundable whether the building has been successfully certified or not.
   • Example:
     • An estate with 4,000 domestic units and 2 Phased Applications with 2,000 units each under Scenario 1 are submitted.  Application Fee of $500 has to be paid upon submission of each Phased Application, i.e. a total of $1,000 Application Fee is required.
     • Total Certification Fee of $30,000 is required for the estate with 4,000 domestic units. Certification Fee of $15,000 each has to be paid upon final submission of the building assessment reports of the first and second Phased Application respectively.
3. How does the Hong Kong Quality Building Assessment Panel ensure that the fees charged by VBAS Assessors are fair and reasonable?
   • To provide more choices to the building owners, except those professionals with status of Registered Inspectors, other related building professionals are included on other lists of Register of VBAS Assessors for assessment of the Elements under the Building Management Category. It is hoped that through the fair market competition, the fees will be maintained at a reasonable level.