Bar Association backs tighter rules on owners' corporations

The Hong Kong Bar Association supports government proposals to tighten regulations on owners' corporations but warns against strictly limiting who can hold proxy votes.

Chairman Jose Antonio Maurellet suggests enhancing transparency and establishing a centralized electronic voting platform to curb abuse without infringing on property rights.

The Tai Po Wang Fuk Court fire prompts the government to amend the Building Management Ordinance this year.

The move aims to tighten regulations on owners' corporations and reduce bid-rigging risks.

Proposals include a tiered system where more expensive maintenance projects require a higher percentage of owners to vote in person.

The Hong Kong Bar Association has submited its views.

Speaking on a TVB programme, Chairman Jose Antonio Maurellet agrees with the overall direction, including capping the number of proxy votes.

However, he does not recommend restricting proxy holders to just family members or owners in the same estate.

JOSE ANTONIO MAURELLET,Chairman, HK Bar Association, says We have some doubts as to whether or not restricting proxy holders

to residents or owners or family members would be effective. First of all, it's not easy to exactly detect who and what is a family member.Second of all, we think it may perhaps be an unnecessary intrusion on property rights.

To curb proxy abuse, Maurellet suggests enhancing transparency instead.

JOSE ANTONIO MAURELLET,Chairman, HK Bar Association, says "We think that greater transparency, in particular, asking proxy forms to be filed 96 hours before the meeting,and also having a table where one can find, for example, on the podium of the building who has proxied or which unit has proxied to whom, those would be quite useful in reducing any proxy abuse."

Looking ahead, the association proposes setting up a centralized electronic voting platform to make voting easier for owners.

JOSE ANTONIO MAURELLET,Chairman, HK Bar Association, says "The centralized voting platform, I think, first of all, there's the IT issue. So someone will need to invest in a reliable IT system. We think that, in principle, should not be too problematic.The second is just to ensure that the owner has, for example, his own identification and code, so that there can be no hacking into the system.Once you have that system, in the long run,I think it facilitates owners' exercise of their voting rights and also to ensure the privacy and reduce any abuse."