Lawmaker Bill Tang on Tuesday said more home owners should be attending meetings at which procurements for and renovations to their buildings and estates were on the agenda.

His remarks came as the government proposed amendments to the Building Management Ordinance that put a cap on the number of proxies authorised to attend owners’ meetings.

It is also proposing public displays of lists of home owners who authorise representatives to attend such meetings be made mandatory and that owners be asked to declare their understanding of the agendas at these meetings.

Tang, who chairs the Legislative Council’s home affairs, culture and sports panel, told RTHK that there should be a balance between owners’ participation and a smooth operation of meetings involving them.

While a lenient participation requirement could be allowed for regular meetings, he said, the threshold should be raised for meetings involving large-scale procurement, renovations or selection of consultants.

Tang also said the government could adopt different proxy thresholds for different housing estates.

“For large-scale estates built by private developers which include shopping malls, car parks and lots of units, many home owners might have rented out their properties,” he said.

“But for flats at other large estates under the Home Ownership Scheme and Tenants Purchase Scheme, such as Wang Fuk Court, the majority are owner-occupied as rental transactions are not easily allowed.

"Since home owners live there, why can’t we raise the threshold to avoid disputes in the future?”

A representative of the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies, Johnnie Chan, said the amendments proposed by the government, if passed, could prove helpful in coping with proxies.