In a development that will improve the pace of the redevelopment of the city's old districts, the government said in the Legislative Council yesterday it will not halt the lowering of the threshold for the compulsory sale of old buildings for redevelopment.

The policy, which will begin in April, will allow developers to force the sale of properties in residential blocks that are 50 years or older once they have acquired 80 percent of a building, rather than the present 90 percent.

The policy targets buildings aged 50 years or above and industrial buildings aged 30 years or above that are not located within an industrial zone.

In the wake of the collapse of an old building at Ma Tau Wai Road last month, some lawmakers at yesterday's meeting convened to discuss the Subcommittee on Land were concerned that some shop owners may be forced to sell involuntarily - and at an unfavorable price - if the developer already owns 80 percent of the building.

In response, Deputy Secretary for Development Tommy Yuen Man-chung said the aim of the policy is to provide a lower threshold for owners who want to sell their units but who cannot meet the requirement of the current building ordinance. Additionally, judges from the Lands Tribunal will consider whether the preconditions have been satisfied prior to acceptance of applications for compulsory sales, he said.

Meanwhile, many legislators welcomed the administration's setting up a mediation mechanism to assist parties involved in the process of resolving their disputes.

Yuen said the setting up of a mediation mechanism and lowering of the application threshold should proceed in tandem as they complement each other. "In practice, the administration has been trying hard to help launch the mediation mechanism by setting aside spaces for setting up mediation centers and will report the progress to the panel as soon as possible, even though there is no fixed timetable," Yuen said.

(HK Edition 03/05/2010 page2)