A study on homeowner participation in private housing management in Hong Kong : incentives and influences

Abstract

Various studies have indicated that “homeowner participation” is one of the essential elements in achieving good housing management. Nevertheless, homeowners of multi-unit buildings in Hong Kong are always being described as “passive player” in housing management with low participation rate. Meanwhile, certain contemporary researchers reveal that some homeowners are becoming more active under the ever-changing social and political environment in Hong Kong. Through literature review, in-depth interview and questionnaire survey, this study has investigated the incentives for those homeowners who involved in housing management actively and their influences on the housing management industry. From the research, it is found that homeowners can be motivated by different types of incentives. The findings suggested that personal satisfaction is the most significant incentive that encourages individual to engage in housing management matters. In the meantime, the result revealed that the busy lifestyle in Hong Kong discourage most homeowner to spend time on housing management and rely on the efforts of the management company and resident organization under the dilemma of collectivism. Furthermore, it is found that there are more positive influences than negative influences resulted by homeowner participation. It is suggested that the promotion of homeowner involvement does not only valuable to housing management, but also to the housing profession. To achieve a better outcome, recommendations are suggested to the Government, the homeowners, and the property management agents to achieve a higher participation rate.