Federal government reacts to Ombudsman’s direct examination report on personal manufactured slopes
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In action to the direct examination report released by the Office of The Ombudsman (the Ombudsman) today (June 29), the Lands Department (LandsD), the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD), and the Buildings Department (BD) revealed appreciation to the Ombudsman for its in-depth evaluation of the Government’s work relating to the decision of slope upkeep obligations and the threat management of personal manufactured slopes, and accepted all the suggestions therein. In action to the observations and suggestions made by the Ombudsman throughout the examination procedure, the 3 departments had actually previously proactively presented and executed a variety of enhancement procedures. They will even more reinforce the security management of personal manufactured slopes through 4 essential locations: upkeep obligation decision, security screening, enforcement and correction, and inter-departmental partnership.
There have to do with 61 000 manufactured slopes in Hong Kong, of which about 16 000 are personal manufactured slopes, and over 6 000 are slopes with blended upkeep duties (i.e., slopes handled by both the Government and personal owners for their particular parts). As kept in mind by the Ombudsman in the report, routine assessment and upkeep of personal manufactured slopes are the duty of the owners, while the Government mainly executes slope management overcome 3 departments. The LandsD is accountable for figuring out upkeep obligations. Second, the CEDD performs security screening and determines hazardous slopes. Third, the BD takes enforcement actions to remedy risks, consisting of releasing Dangerous Hillside Orders for hazardous slopes or carrying out default deals with behalf of owners.
The 3 departments have actually taken proactive actions over the previous duration to carry out concrete steps and have actually up until now resolved the majority of the enhancement suggestions in the report. The follow-up actions on the Ombudsman’s significant suggestions consist of:
Clarifying upkeep obligation early and notifying owners proactively
To make it possible for personal owners to satisfy their slope upkeep obligations as early as possible, the LandsD has actually carried out numerous procedures to speed up procedures, consisting of enhancing decision treatments, improving interaction and details sharing with pertinent departments, setting target processing time for cases of differing intricacy, and reinforcing the tracking on consultancy companies. Considering that the 2nd half of 2025, the decision of upkeep obligation for manufactured slopes freshly formed or customized might normally be finished within 6 months, showing a considerable enhancement in effectiveness. In addition to submitting decision results to the Slope Maintenance Responsibility Information System, the LandsD will alert personal owners worried immediately. For cases currently been identified, the LandsD will release notice letters to personal owners worried by batches, with the very first batch anticipated to be provided by stages beginning with the 2nd half of the year.
Enhancing security screening research studies and reinforcing owner education and assistance
Beginning with 2025, the CEDD is gradually increasing the variety of security screening research studies for personal slopes from 100 to 130 each year over a three-year duration. The department will likewise release the Smart Slope Catalogue within this year. This brochure incorporates records of preventive works, upkeep, rains, and landslides, and uses Artificial Intelligence for huge information analysis to pick slopes for security screening research studies with greater accuracy. The department will step up public education and technical assistance for owners. For slopes that are not categorized as hazardous after evaluating research studies however reveal indications of insufficient upkeep, the CEDD will provide advisory letters to owners as suitable, pointing out particular concerns and offering advisory services, consisting of required upkeep suggestions, to embody the management viewpoint of avoidance.
Speeding up the issuance of repair work orders and follow-up on compliance
For cases that are clear in nature and fairly easy, the BD has actually reduced the target time for releasing repair work orders to 3 months. If a slope is discovered to position an impending threat, the BD will right away schedule federal government specialists to perform emergency situation works. To help owners in adhering to repair work orders, after providing a repair work order, the BD will proactively organize website examinations with owners to offer descriptions, participate in owners’ conferences to provide technical recommendations, and present financial backing plans such as the Building Safety Loan Scheme. These steps make sure that case follow-up would not be a one-way punitive procedure, however rather a detailed technique integrating assistance and support. For cases where compliance is past due, the Department has, considering that completion of in 2015, utilized its department details system to immediately produce suggestion and cautioning letters, therefore improving enforcement effectiveness. The BD has likewise structured its prosecution treatments, with internal standards plainly stating the requirements for additional prosecution and target processing time. The Development Bureau has actually likewise proposed changes to the Buildings Ordinance to increase charges for non-compliance, and prepares to send a costs to the Legislative Council for factor to consider by the end of this year.
Enhancing system for efficient handling of intricate cases
The BD has actually developed numerous committees to keep track of the development of exceptional repair work orders and default works performed on behalf of owners, in addition to the efficiency of consultancy companies and federal government specialists. The BD is presently checking out methods to optimise the Building Condition Information System to make it possible for category of intricate cases through the system, with development kept track of through routine conferences and different committees. Personnel have actually likewise been advised to release social employee groups in a prompt way to help owners in requirement. The BD will continue to deal with the CEDD and LandsD to develop a routine system for info sharing and follow-up, and will go over follow-up actions at co-ordination conferences. The BD will put together a list of regularly experienced concerns and troubles in complicated cases to improve interaction with market professionals and enhance the effectiveness of the approval procedure.
Speeding up the conclusion of default works
For cases of non-compliance without any substantive development, the BD will, while taking prosecution action, organize default works for slopes with instant security dangers. Through proactive intervention by the BD, the variety of default works cases has actually considerably increased from 22 in 2023 to 40 in 2024 and 66 in 2025. Over the previous 5 years, default works have actually been finished for more than 150 repair work orders, with complete expense healing from the owners.
Simplifying approval applications for deal with federal government land
For cases where the BD needs to go into a federal government land to perform default deal with personal manufactured slopes, the LandsD has structured treatments by approving the Simplified Temporary Government Land Allocation to the BD by method of block approval, getting rid of the requirement to send private applications for each default works job, so that the default works might be performed as early as possible. In between May 2025 and March 2026, 18 default works tasks were sped up under this procedure.
The LandsD is likewise communicating with the BD to optimise the dealing with treatments for owners and their selected specialists to go into federal government land to perform works. The LandsD prepares to present brand-new plans, such as offering the application and standards to owners at the time when they have actually been released with a Dangerous Hillside Order, so that the repair on personal slopes can be begun as quickly as possible.
Enhancing inter-departmental cooperation
The LandsD has actually signed up with the top-level working group and routine conference systems formerly developed by the CEDD and BD to enhance tripartite partnership, quickly solve intricate cases and disagreements over rights and duties, and guarantee that important slope repair work or emergency situation works are not postponed by such conflicts. The LandsD developed a brand-new inter-departmental online platform in December 2025, making it possible for departments to exchange views in real-time on the material of decision reports after these being published by consultancy companies, consequently improving general functional effectiveness. The departments will likewise continue to co-operate with the residential or commercial property management market. Apart from motivating home management business to assist owners co-ordinate slope upkeep and abide by Dangerous Hillside Orders, they will arrange rundown sessions on technical standards, workshops, and exhibits to enhance public education and expert assistance.
The LandsD, CEDD, and BD will constantly evaluate the operation of the whole personal manufactured slope security management system, from upkeep duty decision to run the risk of screening, and after that to enforcement and correction, reinforcing inter-departmental cooperation to raise the security level of personal manufactured slopes and protect public security.