Stiffer proxy checks set for flat owners' votes

Hong Kong is putting in place a verification regime for proxy votes at property owners’ corporation meetings, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak said on Saturday. Checks requiring both parties to sign and declare are, she said, "more effective" than a prescribed cap on the number of proxy votes a flat owner's representative can hold. Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Mak said the government has received 550 written submissions from a month-long public consultation on proposed amendments to the Building Management Ordinance. The submissions, she pointed out, broadly supported clearer thresholds for major maintenance works and stronger proxy requirements but raised practical concerns. Mak said half of the submissions opposed the proposed cap on how many proxy votes one person may hold, citing the difficulty of applying a numerical limit once forms are sealed in a box and opened collectively. Instead, she said, both parties would have to sign off on the forms and leave contact details, with the owner declaring they know about the meeting and agenda, and the representative declaring they know the person authorising the proxy representation is the genuine owner of the property. “Verification is more effective than a prescribed cap," Mak said. "Many owners and industry friends...