The “Property Management Services Authority (PMSA) Annual Report 2019-20” (“Annual Report”) has been published in accordance with the requirement stipulated in the “Property Management Services Ordinance” (Cap. 626) and is presented to the Legislative Council today.
The Annual Report summarises the PMSA’s key accomplishments from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 and outlines the future development plans. Over the year, the key tasks of the PMSA included various preparation work for the implementation of the licensing regime for the property management industry (“licensing regime”), including active communication with different stakeholders, as well as refining the draft subsidiary legislation on the licensing regime after consideration of different views received for submission to the Legislative Council under the “negative vetting” legislative procedure. The PMSA has also drawn up criteria for approving Recognized Professional Bodies (RPBs), and the first batch of RPBs has been announced.
Mr Tony TSE, the PMSA Chairperson said, “The licensing regime came into operation on 1 August this year. The PMSA has so far received over 1,500 licence applications, and nearly 650 licences for property management practitioners (PMPs) and property management companies (PMCs) have been issued, reflecting the industry’s support to the implementation of the licensing regime which promotes professionalism and quality of the industry.
There is a three-year transitional period under the licensing regime. PMPs who do not meet the licensing criteria for academic and/or professional qualifications but possess the specified property management work experience may apply for a provisional licence. Upon completion of a PMSA Specified Course (“Specified Course”) within the validity of the provisional licence, they may then apply for a formal PMP licence.
Chairperson TSE added, “The PMSA has appointed four institutions, including (in alphabetical order) Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, Vocational Training Council; Li Ka Shing School of Professional and Continuing Education, The Open University of Hong Kong; School of Continuing and Professional Education, City University of Hong Kong; as well as School of Professional Education and Executive Development, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University to provide the Specified Courses. The institutions have progressively launched the Specified Courses with class locations covering Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories to facilitate the participants. The institutions have also submitted their Specified Courses for registration under the Reimbursable Course List of the Continuing Education Fund.
Chairperson TSE further added, “Apart from open admission, some PMCs have engaged individual institutions to provide “entreprise-based classes” of the Specified Courses for their own employees. This shows the industry’s eagerness to provide training for their employees so as to further enhance professionalism and quality of the industry under the licensing regime.
Furthermore, all sectors in the community of Hong Kong have been adversely affected in the outbreak of the novel coronavirus this year. As the advocate of the property management industry, the PMSA has been commissioned by the Home Affairs Department to implement the “Anti-epidemic Support Scheme for Property Management Sector” under the “Anti-epidemic Fund”. The scheme provides financial relief to eligible properties and their frontline property management workers. Relevant details about the implementation work have also been covered in the Annual Report.
The Annual Report has been uploaded to the PMSA website. Please refer to the link below for details:
2019-20 Annual Report
Ends/Wednesday, 21 October 2020
Issued at HKT 19:00
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