Consultants and contractors who make it to a government vetted eligibility list for major renovation works can be removed from it in the event of serious misconduct that resulted in arrests, prosecutions or convictions, the development chief warned on Saturday.

The pre-selected list is part of efforts by the administration to beef up the Urban Renewal Authority's "Smart Tender" platform to prevent bid-rigging.

Authorities will review the backgrounds of consultants and contractors, with help from law enforcement agencies in looking for criminal records, before including them on the vetted list.

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said authorities would be reviewing the list every two years and removing consultants and contractors from it if they were involved in serious violations.

While delisted contractors and consultants could not bid for future projects under the platform, she said they could be allowed to continue with ongoing works.

"If you inform homeowners whenever a contractor working on a project for them has been removed from the list, it will cause great impact to society and the project," Linn told a HOY TV programme.

"Instead, we should consider introducing some clauses in contracts that give homeowners the right to change contractors.

"When they see a contractor being delisted, they have to weigh whether they feel uneasy with the removal and the contractor's performance on the current project."

The upgraded version of the platform will be launched in the second half of the year, Linn added, and it will come with tighter scrutiny of consultants and contractors.

Strengthening the role of the Urban Renewal Authority in overseeing bids for renovation works was among a series of proposed changes by the government in an attempt to prevent a tragedy like the Wang Fuk Court inferno from happening again.