Over 400 Members of the Property Management Industry Participated in the Property Management Services Authority’s Continuing Professional Development Seminar to Strenghten Understanding of Obligations under the Building Management Ordinance

Over 400 members of the property management (PM) industry participated in the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Seminar organised by the Property Management Services Authority (PMSA) today to strengthen the understanding of their obligations under the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) (BMO).

Mr CHONG Fu Chuen, Contract Solicitor of the Home Affairs Department (HAD), was invited to be speaker of the Seminar and shared with the audience about the obligations of property management companies (PMCs) and practitioners (PMPs) under the BMO. Another speaker Miss NGAI Ka Man, Sr Liaison Officer of the HAD, also talked about the diverse building management support services provided by the HAD, including free legal consultation, dispute resolution, the Central Platform on Building Management, etc.

Dr James WONG, Chairperson of the PMSA, said, “The BMO sets out the right and responsibility of property owners for managing the common parts of a building, maintaining building safety and cleanliness. However, effective handling of such complicated and tedious building management work requires collaborative effort between owners and the PMC. In addition to acting in accordance with the relevant provisions of the BMO, PMCs also have to assist and remind owners to perform building management work in accordance with the relevant provisions of the BMO.”

Chairperson WONG added, “The provisions of the BMO cover the operation of an owners’ organisation and its relevant procedures. PMCs and PMPs may learn more about the series of building management support services provided by the HAD through this Seminar and assist owners to deal with building management matters more efficiently.”

All licensed PMP who completed the Seminar would earn recognised CPD participation hours under the PMSA CPD Scheme and would be awarded Certificate of Participation issued by the PMSA.

Following the ending of the three-year transitional period under the PM industry licensing regime, the PMSA has implemented the CPD Scheme on mandatory basis in stages. Mandatory participation in CPD activities will be required for licensed PMPs in order to drive the PM industry to advance with times and raise its professional standard and status. Licensed PMPs (Tier 1) will be required to participate in at least 12 hours of CPD activities/courses each year from 1 January 2024 onwards, and licensed PMPs (Tier 2) will be required to participate in at least 6 hours of CPD activities/courses each year from 1 January 2025 onwards. The PMSA has, from 1 August 2023 onwards, imposed condition on all newly issued or renewed licences requiring the licensees concerned to fulfil the mandatory participation requirements in CPD. Non-compliance would affect licence renewal. 

Under the CPD Scheme, the PMSA will continue to work with industry bodies, relevant Government departments and public organisations to organise PM-related CPD seminars regularly so as to offer licensed PMPs more opportunities for continuous professional education. In addition, activities/courses organised by the PMSA Recognised Professional Bodies and specified PMC organisations are pre-recognised in each year and will be updated continuously within the year. As of October this year, 142 training activities or courses organised by relevant professional bodies/organisations in 2023 have been recognised under the Scheme. Activities/Courses organised by the Government or public bodies, as well as courses offered by education institutions which are regulated by the Education Bureau or accredited by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications are automatically recognised under the CPD Scheme and require no advance approval. Licensed PMPs may add their participation record directly into the e-Recording system launched by the PMSA under the CPD Scheme upon attending these activities/courses.

Please refer to the PMSA website for details: https://www.pmsa.org.hk/en/professional-development/continuing-professional-development-scheme.

Photo Caption:
​​​​​