The HK Home Improvement Guide

Minor Works Control System

Full Implementation on 31 December 2010

The Minor Works Control System (MWCS) has been fully implemented on 31 December 2010. In order not to violate the legal requirements of the new system, any member of the public intending to carry out minor works should employ prescribed building professionals (PBP) and/or prescribed registered contractors (PRC) to do so.

A register of minor works contractors is established under the MWCS. Contractor companies and individual practitioners can register as minor works contractors of the relevant classes and types or items by virtue of their work experience, qualifications and competence. Click here for further details of Registration as Registered Minor Works Contractors

Background

Under the Buildings Ordinance, the carrying out of large-scale building works or works of a very simple nature (such as the erection of drying racks on the external walls of household apartments) are governed by the same set of controls, including the requirements to obtain prior approval and consent from the Building Authority (i.e. Buildings Department) before commencement of works and to appoint Authorized Persons (i.e., architects, engineers and surveyors registered under the Buildings Ordinance), and registered professionals to design and supervise the works as well as registered contractors to carry out the works.

The requirements of the above system are too stringent for minor works which are of a smaller scale and pose a lower level of risk. This not only creates difficulties on control and enforcement, but also results in many unauthorized building works.

In view of the above, the Government has amended the Buildings Ordinance in June 2008 to introduce the MWCS, facilitating members of the public to carry out minor works in private buildings lawfully through simplified procedures and thereby improve the building safety in Hong Kong. The Building (Minor Works) Regulation [B(MW)R], which provides for the modus operandi of the system, was passed by the Legislative Council in May 2009.

Minor Works

A total of 118 items of building works have been included as minor works subject to the control under the MWCS. The size, location and respective criteria of each item of minor works are set out in the B(MW)R. These minor works are classified into three classes according to their scale, complexity and risk to safety:

	Class I (total of 40 items) includes mainly those relatively more complicated minor works
	Class II (total of 40 items) comprises those of comparatively lower complexity and risk to safety
	Class III (total of 38 items) mainly includes common household minor works

To facilitate checking of details of the minor works items, the 118 items of minor works are grouped into over 20 categories in accordance with the nature/ substance of the works as below:

Details of Minor Works
(Please click the item number for description of building works)

Minor Works			Items (PDF )
			Class I	Class II	Class III	Designated Exempted Works   (Part 2 of Schedule 2)
Erection / alteration / removal / strengthening of supporting structures for air-conditioners/water cooling towers / associated air ducts			1.5, 1.28, 1.29	2.2, 2.31	3.2, 3.26, 3.27, 3.28, 3.34, 3.35	12, 13
Removal of Architectural Projection				2.31	3.26
Erection/alteration/removal/strengthening of canopies			1.27	2.31	3.25, 3.26, 3.37, 3.38	14
Removal of Chimney			1.37	2.37
Erection / repair / alteration / addition / removal of drains	Aboveground			2.30	3.23, 3.24
	Underground		1.25, 1.26, 1.36	2.28, 2.29, 2.36
Erection/alteration/removal/strengthening of drying racks					3.29, 3.30, 3.36	15
Construction/alteration of spread footings associated with the carrying out of minor works / designated exempted works			1.11	2.10
Excavation works associated with the carrying out of minor works/designated exempted works			1.12	2.11		9
Erection / alteration / removal of solid fence walls and external mesh fences		Solid Fence Wall	1.7, 1.9	2.6	3.4	5
		External Mesh Fence	1.8, 1.10	2.7	3.5	6
Building works associated with the erection / alteration / removal of service lifts / stairlifts / lifting platforms		Service Lift	1.3, 1.33
		Stairlift or Lifting Platform	1.4, 1.34
Erection/alteration/repair/removal of metal gates at fence walls or at the entrance of buildings			1.16, 1.40	2.16, 2.40	3.13, 3.33	8
Erection/repair/removal of panels fixed by metal dowels and fixings (onto a wall inside a building)			1.31	2.33
Alteration/removal/repair/replacement of protective barriers			1.6	2.5	3.3
Erection / alteration / removal / replacement of signboards		projecting signboard	1.20, 1.24	2.18, 2.23, 2.24	3.16, 3.18
		wall signboard	1.22, 1.24	2.19, 2.23, 2.26	3.17, 3.20	10, 11
		signboard on the roof of a building	1.21, 1.24	2.23, 2.25	3.19
		signboard on or hung underneath the soffit of a balcony or canopy	1.24	2.20, 2.23, 2.27	3.21
		outdoor signboard fixed on-grade	1.23, 1.24	2.21, 2.22, 2.23, 2.25	3.22
Formation/reinstatement of slab openings		formation	1.2	2.1		1
		reinstatement	1.35	2.35		2
Erection / alteration/removal of supporting structures for solar water heating systems / photovoltaic systems / antennas / transceivers / radio base stations		Solar Water Heating System	1.5, 1.18	2.2	3.2, 3.14	12
		Photovoltaic System	1.5, 1.19	2.2	3.2, 3.15	12
		Antenna / Transceiver	1.13		3.9, 3.10
		Radio Base Station	1.14	2.12	3.8
Erection/alteration/removal of internal staircases			1.1, 1.32		3.1
Repair of Structural Elements			1.17	2.17
Removal of Unauthorized Structure			1.30, 1.38, 1.39	2.32, 2.38, 2.39	3.32
Replacement / removal of glass reinforced polyester water tanks				2.3, 2.4		3, 4
Construction / alteration / repair / removal of windows / window walls				2.8, 2.9	3.6, 3.7
Erection / alteration / removal / repair of non-load bearing external reinforced concrete walls / external block walls			1.15	2.13, 2.14, 2.15	3.11, 3.12
Laying / repair / removal of external rendering / external wall tiles / roof tiles				2.34		7
Erection / repair / removal of claddings fixed to external walls					3.31

 

Simplified Requirements for the Carrying Out of Minor Works

The carrying out of minor works can be commenced through the Simplified Requirements of the MWCS, without the need to obtain prior approval of plans and consent in writing for the commencement of the works from the Building Authority. Any person, whether the owners themselves or their agents (for example the design company), is required to appoint Prescribed Building Professionals (PBP)/Prescribed Registered Contractors (PRC) to carry out the minor works. Below is the flow chart for the carrying out of Class I, Class II and Class III minor works:

 

Notes:
1 - RGBC denotes Registered General Building Contractors
2 - RSC denotes Registered Specialist Contractors
3 - RMWC denotes Registered Minor Works Contractors

 

Inspection and Certification of Prescribed Building or Building Works (also known as “Household Minor Works Validation Scheme”)

A "Validation Scheme" is established under the MWCS to facilitate members of the public to retain, after validation, minor household installations including air-conditioner supporting frames, drying racks and small canopies constructed without the prior approval of plans from the Buildings Department before the date of commencement of operation of the system. Those minor household installations that may be validated through the Validation Scheme are “Prescribed Building or Building Works” under the B(MW)R.  The following four items are prescribed building or building works under the Validation Scheme:

	supporting structures for air-conditioning units, water cooling towers or any associated air ducts located on-grade or on a slab (other than a cantilevered slab)
	supporting frames for air-conditioning units projecting from the external wall of a building
	drying racks projecting from the external wall of a building
	small canopy (not constructed of concrete) projecting from the external wall of a building

For detailed descriptions of the above four items of prescribed building or building works, please refer to Schedule 3 of the B(MW)R . Below is the flow chart for the validation of  household minor works under the Validation Scheme:

Enforcement action for removing those validated minor household installations will not be taken by the Buildings Department unless there are rendered dangerous.

Designated Exempted Works

The MWCS also introduced 15 items of “Designated Exempted Works”, of which their complexity and risk to safety are lower than that of the minor works. In accordance with the Buildings Ordinance, the “Designated Exempted Works” may be commenced without prior approval of plans and consent for commencement of works from the Buildings Department, and without the need to appoint Authorized Persons and registered contractors for the carrying out of the works. The 15 items of “Designated Exempted Works” include:-

Categories of  “Designated Exempted Works”	Item No. (PDF )
Formation/reinstatement of small slab openings	1, 2
Replacement/removal of  glass reinforced polyester water tanks having capacity of  not more than 9 m3	3, 4
Removal of solid fence walls of  height not more than 1.1 m and external mesh fences  of  height not more than 3 m	5, 6
Laying/repair/removal of  external rendering/external wall tiles at a height not more than 3 m above ground and roof tiles on roof of gradient not more than 1 in 4	7
Erection/alteration/repair/removal of metal gates at fence walls  or at the entrance of buildings with the weight of each leaf not more than 100 kg and the height of the gate not more than 2.2 m	8
Excavation works of a depth of not more than 0.3 m	9
Erection/alteration  of signboard with projection not more than 150 mm from the external wall and at a height not more than 3 m above ground	10
Removal of signboards with projection not more than 600 mm from the external wall and at a height not more than 3 m above ground	11
Removal of supporting structures of height not more than 1 m high rested on ground or on a slab for air-conditioning units/water cooling towers/solar water heating systems/photovoltaic systems	12
Erection/alteration/removal of supporting structures for air-conditioning units and associated air ducts projecting from the external wall of  building at a height not more than 3m above ground (the  supporting structures do not project over any street or common part of the building)	13
Erection/alteration/removal of canopies at a height not more than 3m above ground (the canopies do not project over any street or common part of the building)	14
Erection/alteration/removal of drying racks  at a height not more than 3m above ground (the racks do not project over any street or common part of the building)	15

For detailed descriptions of the “Designated Exempted Works”, please refer to Schedule 2 of the B(MW)R .

 

Benefits of the New System

	The statutory application procedures for carrying out minor works will be greatly simplified.
	The quality of works can be assured as they will be carried out by registered personnel.
	Through the "Household Minor Works Validation Scheme", certain minor household installations constructed without prior approval can be retained.
	Building safety will be enhanced.

 

Supportive Measures

The Buildings Department had put in place the following measures to facilitate implementation of the MWCS and to assist the public in understanding and using the new system effectively :

	Provide Technical Guidelines and Practice Notes on minor works to the construction industry for reference.
	Distribute General Guidelines on minor works to members of the public, building owners and Owners' Corporations introducing the new system to assist their understanding of the classification of minor works and the appointment of appropriate building professionals and registered contractors for the carrying out of minor works.
	Collaborate with the Hong Kong Housing Society to set up a Technical Resource Centre (Yau Tsim Mong) in its Property Management Advisory Centre to provide advisory and enquiry services to the public.
	Upload detailed information of the MWCS onto the Buildings Department webpage for the reference of the general public.
	Establish telephone hotlines to answer public enquiries.
	Publish booklets to introduce MWCS for building owners/owners' corporation, interior renovation / alteration trade, restaurant and food business and signboards trade.
	CD-ROM of the General Guidelines and Technical Guidelines is available for free collection at:
	18 District Offices of the Home Affairs Department 10 Property Management Advisory Centres of the Hong Kong Housing Society the Receipt & Despatch Counter of the Buildings Department at 12/F of Pioneer Centre the Building Information Centre of the Buildings Department at 13/F of Pioneer Centre Technical Rescource Centre at 5/F of Yau Ma Tei Community Centre http://www.bd.gov.hk/english/services/index_buildingAmendent.html