A series of legal changes to strengthen regulations for fire safety and the role of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) in overseeing bids for renovation works were proposed on Wednesday in an attempt to prevent a tragedy like the Wang Fuk Court inferno from happening again.

Moving a motion in the legislature on the government's work in the aftermath of the Tai Po blaze, Chief Secretary Eric Chan said officials planned to tighten safety rules by having firefighters approve the switching-off of fire safety systems, unlike the current practice of them being notified only afterwards.

He said building management firms would also have to bear responsibility for ensuring that fire safety systems work as the responsibility for complying with the law lies with homeowners and contractors who look after the systems.

A system of fines is also mooted for safety violations such as blocking safety exits and missing annual checks for devices while tougher penalties are in the offing for false or misleading certificates for fire safety devices.

Chan said officials would also change laws to require a minimum distance between scaffolding on different buildings when large-scale renovation projects are involved.

He is also proposing that only firms and professionals on the vetted list of the URA be allowed to take part in renovation work involving subsidised housing projects, as officials plan to boost the URA's role in preventing bid-rigging.

"The authority would conduct the tendering exercise for homeowners seeking a renovation subsidy and assess the bids. We would then propose a consultant and contractor," Chan told lawmakers.

"The URA would also conduct spot checks on a subsidised project once work was underway so as to monitor it in an active manner and to ensure that funds are paid out according to the progress of the actual work."

Chan said homeowners would also be asked to give reviews on the firms and this would be one of the factors that would be taken into consideration when it came decision time on whether they could stay on the URA's vetted list.