Urban Renewal Committee sets new building restoration ratio

The Urban Renewal Committee has agreed to set the new building ‘restoration ratio’ – the percentage of apartment owners in a residential building whose consent is required to move forward with a building renovation – between 85 and 100 percent.

The ratio was first proposed in the beginning of this year, with the committee organizing several meetings since then. During the seventh meeting last week, the committee established four sets of circumstances for determining the restoration ratio.

The suggestions propose that buildings less than 30 years old should maintain a 100 percent restoration ratio, while those aged between 30 and 40 years should maintain a 90 percent restoration ratio. For buildings over 40 years of age, the ratio should be slightly lower at 85 percent.

The only stated exception concerns buildings, of whatever age, with important public interests, which require just 85 percent for a renovation.

The committee believes that these arrangements will be easier to push forward as part of the city’s urban renewal agenda, and described the requirements as below average.

The committee also agreed that the government will provide temporary housing and financial support for residents who need to find alternative lodgings while their buildings are being restored.

Committee member Paul Tse said that the aforementioned proposals are just drafts, and that the matters would be addressed by a company to be established and fully owned by the Macau government. JZ