Codes and references

Legal matters

Legal matters

The Buildings Ordinance and related legislation are amended as and when appropriate to reflect technological advancement and changing circumstances.

The Department enforces the law and prosecutes offenders with rigour and organises public education programmes to promote building safety and preventive maintenance.

Buildings Ordinance and related Legislation

You may refer to the electronic version of the legislation of Hong Kong, which is intended for information purposes only, in the Bilingual Laws Information System (BLIS) of the Department of Justice through the following links.

For official versions of the legislation of Hong Kong, you should refer to the loose-leaf edition of the Laws of Hong Kong and the Government Gazette.

Buildings Ordinance and the Subsidiary Regulations

Buildings Ordinance (Application to the New Territories) Ordinance, CAP 121

Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance, CAP 502

Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance, CAP 572

Fire Safety (Industrial Buildings) Ordinance, CAP 636

Legislative Amendments

New Legislation and Legislative Amendments in operation recently (5 years)

New Legislation and Legislative Amendments in operation recently (5 years)
Description Gazette Date
Amendments applicable to electronic submission (stage 2) under Building (Administration) (Amendment) Regulation 2021 and Electronic Transactions (Exclusion) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2021 have come into operation on 31 March 2023. 3 February 2023
Amendments applicable to electronic submission (stage 1) under the Building (Administration) (Amendment) Regulation 2021, Building (Minor Works) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2021, Building (Inspection and Repair) (Amendment) Regulation 2021, Electronic Transactions Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) (No. 2) Order 2021 and Electronic Transactions (Exclusion) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2021 have come into operation on 31 March 2022. 10 September 2021
Amendments to Schedule 5 to the Buildings Ordinance have come into operation on 3 September 2021. 3 September 2021
Amendment to Schedule 8 to the Buildings Ordinance has come into operation on 1 September 2021. 14 May 2021
Building (Minor Works) (Amendment) Regulation 2021 has come into operation on 1 September 2021. 18 June 2021
Building (Construction) Regulation, Building (Administration) (Amendment) Regulation 2020, Building (Ventilating Systems) (Amendment) Regulation 2020 and Building (Construction) Regulations (Repeal) Regulation have come into operation on 1 February 2021. 10 January 2020
Building (Minor Works) (Amendment) Regulation 2020 and Building (Planning) (Amendment) Regulation 2020 have come into operation on 1 September 2020. 8 May 2020
Fire Safety (Industrial Buildings) Ordinance has come into operation on 19 June 2020. 19 June 2020

Prosecution

The Buildings Ordinance and its subsidiary regulations, Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance and Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance provide for building safety requirements, offences and penalties. Prosecution of offenders is an integral part of our enforcement responsibility. Generally speaking, any person who commits an offence under the above ordinances or regulations may be prosecuted.

Statistics of Prosecution Cases under the Buildings Ordinance, Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance and Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance

Noteworthy Cases in relation to Prosecution

Legitimate Expectation about Unauthorised Building Works

In some situations, owners may claim that they have a "legitimate expectation" that their unauthorised building works should not be targeted for enforcement. A typical example is the legitimate expectation arising from previous amnesty given by the government e.g. a letter from a government department stating that certain unauthorised building works can be retained. The Building Authority has sought legal advice from the Department of Justice in this regard and will adopt a prudent approach in taking enforcement action. For these cases, the Building Authority will weigh the owners’ legitimate expectation arising from the alleged amnesty against the public interest. If there is overriding public interest, enforcement action against the unauthorised building works will be taken.

Gazette Notices of the Disciplinary Boards

You may refer to the electronic version of the Gazette Notices, which is intended for information purposes only, in the Government Logistics Department website through the following links.

You are advised to verify such information by making reference to printed version of The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Gazette before acting on it.

Authorized Persons', Registered Structural Engineers' and Registered Geotechnical Engineers' Disciplinary Board's Findings and Orders
(past 3 years)

Authorized Persons', Registered Structural Engineers' and Registered Geotechnical Engineers' Disciplinary Board's Findings and Orders
Notice No. Issue Date
G.N. 1170 11 March 2022

Registered Contractors' Disciplinary Board's Findings and Orders
(past 3 years)

Registered Contractors' Disciplinary Board's Findings and Orders
Notice No. Issue Date
G.N. 4730 11 August 2023
G.N. 3672 23 June 2023
G.N. 3671 23 June 2023
G.N. 2451 28 April 2023
G.N. 2314 21 April 2023
G.N. 6916 2 December 2022
G.N. 4596 26 August 2022
G.N. 4283 12 August 2022
G.N. 4282 12 August 2022
G.N. 1273 18 March 2022
G.N. 7557 3 December 2021
G.N. 7556 3 December 2021
G.N. 7059 12 November 2021

Registered Inspectors' Disciplinary Board's Findings and Orders
(past 3 years)

Registered Inspectors' Disciplinary Board's Findings and Orders
Notice No. Issue Date
G.N. 1178 5 March 2021

Determinations of Appeal Tribunal, Buildings Ordinance

A portion of written determinations handed down by the Appeal Tribunal, Buildings Ordinance from 2004 onwards, which are intended for information purposes only, are available on the Tribunal's website through the following link.

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