Some residents displaced by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades have called for merging the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) with the Buildings Department. This follows a public inquiry that revealed regulatory failures tied to communication problems between the two government arms, which have overlapping functions.

In recommendations submitted to the independent committee investigating the Wang Fuk Court fire, legal representatives for nine residents urged authorities to merge the two units to avoid functional overlap. They stated, “Given the systemic defects and collaborative failures as revealed by the fire, we recommend that the work of the Independent Checking Unit be handed to the Buildings Department, to reduce redundancy and avoid any errors caused by delays of information flow.”

The fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on November 26, 2025, resulting in 168 deaths and displacing nearly 5,000 people. Following the tragedy, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu ordered the formation of a judge-led independent committee to probe the cause of the fire. Since March, the panel has conducted 30 public inquiry sessions involving 80 witnesses.

During the inquiry, it was revealed that the Independent Checking Unit failed to effectively investigate and supervise non-compliant materials despite repeated complaints from residents.

Sources