Will government assist owner(s) with financial difficulties to carry out the improvement works required under the Fire Safety Directions and/or Fire Safety Improvement Directions? 

For owners who have financial difficulties to carry out the improvement works required under the Fire Safety Directions and/or Fire Safety Improvement Directions, they can apply for loans under the Building Safety Loan Scheme provided by the Buildings Department and other loan/grant schemes provided by Hong Kong Housing Society and Urban Renewal Authority. For details of the Schemes, please refer to the Buildings Department homepage <http://www.bd.gov.hk/english/services/index_bsils.html>. (Please note that some of the schemes are only applicable to owners of domestic and composite buildings.)

Why do owners have to comply with the current fire safety standards?

The improved fire safety works will provide better protection to occupants in case of fire. We understand that it may be difficult for old buildings to comply with all the current standards; therefore the owners are expected to carry out only basic or essential improvement works.

If an owner cannot comply with certain improvement works set out in a Fire Safety Direction and/or Fire Safety Improvement Direction due to site constraints, what can he do?

For straightforward issues usually encountered in domestic parts of buildings or involving individual owners, the owner may contact the responsible BD or FSD officers to discuss possible alternatives to suit site conditions. For more sophisticated issues usually encountered in non-domestic or common parts, after discussion with the subject case officers or as per the requirement stated in the Direction, he may need to appoint a consultant or an authorised person to propose alternative solutions.
Besides, the Hong Kong Housing Society provides relevant guidance and advice to owners of domestic and composite buildings. For more details, please refer to the Hong Kong Housing Society homepage <http://bmms.hkhs.com/eng/bmms_index.html>.