Key facts
- The Hong Kong Bar Association proposed capping proxy numbers at homeowners' meetings.
- The association suggested introducing electronic voting for homeowners' meetings.
- These measures aim to curb bid-rigging in building maintenance procurement.
- Chairman Jose-Antonio Maurellet expressed these suggestions to the South China Morning Post.
- The association is also advocating for bid-rigging to be a criminal offense.
- The proposals follow a deadly fire in Tai Po that exposed deficiencies in building renovation practices.
The Hong Kong Bar Association has put forward proposals to enhance transparency and deter bid-rigging in large-scale building maintenance procurement. Among the suggestions are capping the number of proxies an individual can hold at homeowners' meetings and implementing an electronic voting system.
Jose-Antonio Maurellet, chairman of the association, conveyed these ideas to the South China Morning Post. He indicated reservations about a government proposal to limit an owner's representative to a relative.
These recommendations are part of a broader push for legal reforms following a catastrophic fire in Tai Po that claimed numerous lives and highlighted serious issues in building renovation and fire safety oversight. The association is also preparing proposals to criminalize bid-rigging, moving it from a conduct offense under the Competition Ordinance to a criminal offense, and to give legal force to critical safety standards in building codes that are currently advisory.