Call for Hong Kong homebuyers to hire surveyors to check for illegal features

Hong Kong homebuyers should be required to hire a surveyor to check for illegal features on properties under proposed legal amendments that would hold owners liable for “severe” unauthorised structures, an industry leader has said.

Francis Lam Ka-fai, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, said on Monday the proposed legislation should refer to a comparable framework in the United Kingdom.

In the UK, homebuyers wanting to buy a property on a mortgage must hire a building surveyor to submit a report of the construction and condition of the property, detailing its inspections and identifying potential issues, before its valuation.

Lam said adopting this practice would ensure that real estate agents and lawyers, who might not have the technical knowledge about illegal structures, would not be unwittingly held liable.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the survey usually costs between £600 to £1000 (US$758 to US$1,260), depending on the property.

“In Hong Kong, this [should] extend to whether there are unauthorised works, or if low-load-bearing walls that should not be demolished have been taken down,” Lam told a radio show. “If this is introduced, it can also protect the buyer’s rights.”