< Back

Private residential building owners and OC members - Ten keys to protecting your money and safety of your homes from corruption or fraud scams

  1. Know the legal requirements: OC members shall not accept advantage from contractors and consultants while performing their duties in relation to the management and maintenance of their buildings. 

  2. Manage OC members/PMC staff’s integrity: OC members, building owners and PMC staff, who are involved in the management and maintenance of their buildings, shall avoid any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest situation; and if it is unavoidable, report it to the OC. 

  3. Participate in the operations of OC: building owners should actively participate in the building management and maintenance, including participation in OC’s meetings to discuss/agree on matters in relation to the building maintenance projects.

  4. Adopt open tendering or source more potential bidders: openly invite tenders from all suitable bidders with a view to enhancing tender competition as far as possible.  If it is decided to adopt selective/restricted tendering (e.g. urgent repair cases), OCs should observe the statutory requirement on the minimum number of tenders to be invited as set out in the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344).  The list of potential bidders for invitation of tender should be drawn up by more than one person, making reference to the registers of consultants/contractors maintained by various government departments and public organizations.

  5. Include probity and anti-collusion clauses: include probity and anti-collusion clauses in the tender invitation and contract documents. 

  6. Lay down all requirements in the contracts: specify all the duties of the consultant (e.g. identification of defects, design of maintenance works, tendering of the works, supervision of the contractor’s work, contract administration) and project requirements (e.g. scaffolding, repair of reinforced concrete structures and external rendering/tiles, repair and replacement of water mains) in the contracts.

  7. Assess project costs and reasonableness of tender prices: consider engaging an independent consultant/quantity surveyor for advice on the estimated costs and tender prices; and require the consultants/contractors to submit breakdown of tender prices to facilitate assessment of reasonableness of the prices.

  8. Determine tender evaluation criteria: determine the evaluation criteria before tender opening, and justify and document the reasons if the lowest conforming tender/best offer is not recommended.

  9. Monitor works quality: require the consultant to submit a site supervision plan and report on a regular basis (say, biweekly) on the progress and quality of the works carried out.

  10. Report corruption: report suspected corruption to the ICAC through Report Corruption Hotline 25 266 366 or in person, and report non-corruption related crimes to the Police.
  • Case Study - Building Maintenance
  • Detailed Guide - Building Maintenance Toolkits
  • Service Request Form
  • Contact us for corruption prevention advice