Fire-ravaged Court Administrator Wang Fuk has said he will seek to extend the legal deadline for holding a homeowners’ meeting, citing the need for more time to verify the owners’ signatures and find a suitable location.
In one paper for Wang Fuk Court apartment owners On Wednesday afternoon, Hop On Management confirmed that on April 29, the company had received a request for a general meeting from Wang Fuk Court apartment owners.
The company is currently seeking legal advice and will also apply to the Lands Court to extend the legal deadline for holding the meeting, she added.
The Chinese-language letter was released exactly a week after a group of homeowners released a statement saying they had submitted a petition to Hop On on April 29, requesting a general meeting with the property management firm.
petition collected 247 handwritten signatures – more than 12 percent of households in the Wang Fuk court.
Hong Kong’s Building Management Ordinance requires 5 percent of all homeowners to call a general meeting. Upon receiving such a request, the management committee must give notice of the meeting within 14 days and hold a general meeting with the owners within 45 days, according to the ordinance.
Wednesday was the deadline to issue a notice for the homeowners meeting. It is unclear whether Hop On has applied for an extension.
In the letter, the management company also said it would need additional time to verify the signatures of each homeowner, citing previous owners’ meetings that had been embroiled in controversy over proxy votes and statutory quorums.
Hop On will conduct Land Registry searches to verify the owner of each unit, compare their signatures with samples held in the owners’ existing property records, and ask signatories to present their Hong Kong ID cards in person to verify their identity.
If the application is signed in the capacity of an estate administrator or an executor, Hop On will review copies of the relevant Letters of Administration or Grant of Certificate to verify legal authority to act on behalf of the deceased owner.
The company said it will also need time to find “a suitable venue capable of accommodating at least 1,000 people and hosting a continuous six-hour meeting”.
Speaking to HKFP on condition of anonymity, a courthouse owner Wang Fuk, who signed the petition, accused Hop On of working too slowly and unprofessionally.
He also questioned why Hop On did not announce the decision to postpone the meeting and the procedures for verifying signatures during Zoom Information Session on Tuesday.
“Today is the deadline (for issuing a notice of a meeting). Why didn’t they talk to us about this yesterday?” he said. “I think Hop On needs to understand more about its role — it’s a management company to serve homeowners.”
‘Honest communication’
Hop On Management was appointed by the government in early January to act as the administrator of Wang Fuk Court thereafter The Lands Court dissolved the board of owners of the Tai Po residential property in the wake of the deadly fire.
The company, a subsidiary of real estate giant Chinachem Group, said its work as administrator is pro bono.
Hop On also said Wednesday it would maintain “candid communication” with homeowners.
“As an administrator, Hop On’s responsibility is to represent and serve all owners of Wang Fuk Court, rather than only communicating with a subset of owners or specific individuals,” the company said.
Displaced homeowners, who are scattered across Hong Kong after the deadly fire, have asked Hop On to call a general meeting, but to no avail.
Earlier this year, the company rejected a request to hold a meeting after more than 430 homeowners signed an online petition.
After being criticized for a lack of direct communication with residents, Hop On created a website to facilitate communication in early February.
