The Task Force on Promoting Elderly-friendly Building Design has formulated the proposals on elderly-friendly building design for implementation in phases starting from the middle of this year, the Government announced today.

It explained that with an ageing population in Hong Kong and to encourage ageing in place, the Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address announced that the Deputy Financial Secretary would co-ordinate with relevant bureaus to put forward proposals to promote elderly-friendly building design.

The task force unveiled in November last year a series of specific proposals for elderly-friendly building design and consulted the stakeholders.

The proposals to be implemented cover four categories - promoting spatial accessibility to enhance the mobility of the elderly, encouraging the adoption of adaptive design in residential units to facilitate subsequent modifications, enhancing elderly well-being, and facilitating the adoption of gerontechnology and Internet of Things.

Apart from new private residential buildings, composite buildings and commercial premises frequently patronised by the elderly, such as shopping complexes and clinics, the above proposals are also applicable to alterations and additions to existing buildings of these building types.

As for public housing developments and government buildings, the Government will also endeavor to adhere to the proposals.

The proposals, comprising encouraged features and mandatory requirements, will be implemented in two phases.

The Buildings Department has updated the practice notes and the “Design Manual: Barrier Free Access” for implementation of the encouraged features in the proposals.   

As for the mandatory design requirements, the Government will implement them through making amendments to the Building (Planning) Regulations in the first half of 2026.

Additionally, the Development Bureau, in collaboration with the Green Building Council and the BEAM Society, has launched a voluntary accreditation scheme to encourage the industry to adopt the recommended best practices for elderly-friendly building design.

The accreditation scheme is open for application from today. Click here or call 3610 5700 for more details.