Hong Kong Ordinances

BUILDING MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE - SECT 34E

Mandatory terms in deeds of mutual covenant

(Past version on 30/06/1997).

(1) Subject to subsection (4), the provisions in Schedule 7 shall be impliedly
incorporated- (Amended 5 of 2007 s. 57)

   (a)  into every deed of mutual covenant made on or after the material date;
        and

   (b)  as from the material date, into every deed of mutual covenant made
        before that date.

(2) The provisions incorporated into a deed of mutual covenant by virtue of
this section shall-

   (a)  bind the owners and manager of the building; and

   (b)  prevail over any other provision in the deed that is inconsistent with
        them.

(3) This section shall not operate to attach new legal consequences to any act
done or omission occurring under a deed of mutual covenant before the
material date.

(4) The Authority may-

   (a)  subject to subsection (5), upon application by the manager of the
        building or any other person having an interest in the management of
        the building; or

   (b)  in the case of an exempt estate, upon the application of the
person ("the single manager" (單一經理人) ) who for the time being is,
for the purpose of the deed of mutual covenant in respect of the buildings or
groups of buildings comprising the estate, managing that estate, from time to
time by notice in the Gazette, exclude the application to the building, or to
the buildings or groups of buildings comprising the exempt  estate, as the
case may be, of paragraph 7 of Schedule 7 for a period not exceeding 3 years
and subject to such conditions (if any) as he sees fit.

(5) The Authority shall not exclude the application to the building of
paragraph 7 of Schedule 7 under subsection (4)(a) if the Authority receives a
number of notices of objection from the owners of not less than 50% of the
shares in aggregate in respect of that building, such notices opposing the
application under that subsection.

(6) Subject to subsection (7), the Authority may, upon application by any
owner, manager, person referred to in section 3(1)(a) or (b), any other person
having an interest in the management of a building or any single manager,
specify by order published in the Gazette the addition of any estate to, or
the deletion of any estate (being an exempt estate) from, Schedule 9.

(7) No estate may be so specified under subsection (6) if-

   (a)  the Authority receives a number of notices of objection from the
        owners of not less than 50% of the shares in aggregate in respect of
        the buildings or groups of buildings comprising the estate, such
        notices opposing the addition of that estate to, or the deletion of
        that estate

(being an exempt estate) from, Schedule 9;

   (b)  the conditions (if any) imposed under subsection (4) are not met or
        complied with; and

   (c)  in the case of the proposed addition of an estate to Schedule 9, the
        buildings or groups of buildings comprising the estate are not being
        managed by a single manager.

(8) The Authority shall prepare and publish in the Gazette guidelines relating
to the exercise of the Authority's discretion under subsection (4) and shall,
when considering an application under that subsection, have regard to those
guidelines. (Added 27 of 1993 s. 29. Amended 5 of 2007 s. 57)