Guide to mandatory inspections and BD orders

This is our own plain-language summary, not legal advice. BD's published rules prevail; official links are given throughout.

1. Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS)

According to BD, owners of private buildings aged 30 or more (except domestic buildings of 3 storeys or fewer) who are served a statutory notice must appoint a Registered Inspector to inspect the common parts, external walls and projections or signboards, and, where repair is needed, a registered contractor to carry it out. BD selects buildings for notices by condition and risk; reaching 30 does not trigger a notice automatically. BD: MBIS

See buildings served MBIS notices →

2. Mandatory Window Inspection Scheme (MWIS)

For private buildings aged 10 or more (same exemption for low-rise domestic buildings), owners served a notice must appoint a Qualified Person to inspect all windows, including those inside flats, and arrange any repairs. Unlike MBIS, every flat owner is responsible for their own windows. BD: MWIS

See buildings served MWIS notices →

3. Unauthorised building works and removal orders

Additions or alterations made without BD's prior approval and outside the Minor Works Control System's simplified procedures are unauthorised building works (UBWs): rooftop structures, works on flat roofs, canopies and the like. BD can issue a removal order under section 24 of the Buildings Ordinance requiring the owner to remove them and reinstate. BD: unauthorised building works

4. Other BD orders

• Mandatory Building Inspection notices (Buildings Ordinance s30B)
  Owners must appoint a Registered Inspector to inspect the common parts, external walls and projections, and carry out any repairs found necessary.
• Mandatory Window Inspection notices (Buildings Ordinance s30C)
  Owners must appoint a Qualified Person to inspect all windows of the building and carry out any repairs found necessary.
• Removal orders (unauthorised building works) (Buildings Ordinance s24)
  Requires unauthorised building works (rooftop structures, canopies, projections and the like) to be removed and the affected parts reinstated.
• Repair orders (dangerous buildings) (Buildings Ordinance s26)
  Issued when a building or part of it has become, or is likely to become, dangerous; requires repair or demolition.
• Investigation orders (building defects) (Buildings Ordinance s26A)
  Requires an Authorized Person or Registered Structural Engineer to investigate defects and propose repairs.
• Drainage repair / investigation orders (Buildings Ordinance s28)
  Issued when drains are defective, blocked or insanitary; requires investigation and repair.
• Fire safety directions (industrial buildings) (Cap. 636)
  Under the Fire Safety (Industrial Buildings) Ordinance, requires older industrial buildings to upgrade fire safety construction.

5. What it means for buyers and tenants

• Statutory orders may be registered against the property at the Land Registry, so they show up in a land search before purchase. An outstanding order can affect bank valuations and mortgage approval.
• Inspection and repair costs are shared among owners by their undivided shares. Buying into a building with a notice still open can mean paying towards the works; ask the owners' corporation or management company about progress and budget.
• Responsibility for removing UBWs in a flat, or on a roof or flat roof that comes with it, generally passes to the new owner.
• Tenants normally don't pay for inspections or removal, but works bring scaffolding and noise; the tenancy agreement can set out the landlord's repair duties.
• How to check: BD orders search · MBIS / MWIS notice status · BRAVO building records · a Land Registry search

6. How to read the numbers on this site

BD's lists on DATA.GOV.HK give, for each building, the cumulative number of orders and notices issued since 1 May 2023 and the number complied with, withdrawn or superseded since 1 May 2024. Earlier orders are not included and individual dates are not published, so 'issued' minus 'complied' is not necessarily the number outstanding. We re-download the lists monthly and record any change on the building's history panel and on the updates page. Data sources