No.

For the property as a whole, it is eligible for the ASPM if a property management company (PMC) has been engaged or an owners’ organisation (OO) has been formed. However, for the purpose of calculating the headcounts and the amounts of the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” and the “Anti-epidemic Cleansing Subsidy”, only the building blocks with subsidised sale flats and for domestic use are counted.

(For details, please refer to the Application Guidance.)

A property with a PMC engaged or an OO formed is eligible for the ASPM. However, for the purpose of calculating the headcounts and amounts of the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” and the “Anti-epidemic Cleansing Subsidy”, a special arrangement has been made for houses with three storeys or less (excluding the roof) –

Every ten houses with three storeys or less (excluding the roof) will be counted as an eligible block (i.e. first to tenth such houses as the first block, and 11th to 20th such houses as the second block, and so on).

The maximum amount of the “Anti-epidemic Cleansing Subsidy” for each eligible property is $200,000.

It depends on whether the permitted use of the property is “domestic”. For example, if it is specified on the occupation permit issued by the Building Authority that the relevant part of the property/building block is for hotel use (e.g. “a hotel building”, “hotel guestrooms”, etc.), the serviced apartment concerned will not be eligible for the ASPM.

Moreover, only OOs or PMCs may submit an application. Properties without OOs (e.g. properties with a single-owner) or with no PMCs engaged are not eligible for the ASPM.

No.

A worker is regarded as a “frontline PM worker” as long as he/she engages in frontline cleansing or security work in the property.

Yes.

For the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance”, the Applicant (i.e. the PMC or the OO) can apply for the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” for their workers according to the cap of the headcounts for each building block and the actual circumstances.

The Applicant shall disburse the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” in an embracive and fair manner.

Yes. Frontline PM workers (i.e. cleansing/security workers) are eligible for the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” if they were/are employed by PMCs, OOs, or their contractors anytime during February to May 2020 (the subsidised period) to perform cleansing or security work in eligible properties, and the application should be submitted by the PMC or OO of the eligible property. Please refer to FAQ no.22 regarding how disbursement of the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance may be made to frontline PM workers engaged by the cleansing or security contractors.

Since the PMC has ready access to the particulars of the frontline cleansing and security workers, it is more convenient for the PMC to submit the application, so that the subsidies can be disbursed as soon as practicable. If a PMC has been engaged to provide PM services, we recommend that the OO and the PMC should maintain close communication and that the application should be made by the PMC.

The Property Management Services Authority (PMSA) will, in light of the circumstances of each individual case, take follow up actions and liaise with the PMC and the OO concerned in a bid to understand the actual circumstances to review the applications. The Home Affairs Department (HAD) reserves the right to make final decisions in respect of such applications.

Option 1
For an estate/a building in which all the “parts” are managed by the same PMC, we recommend that the application should be made by the PMC as it normally has ready access to the particulars of frontline cleansing and security workers.

In this case, the cap of the headcounts for the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” for the estate/building is the sum of the cap of the headcounts for all the “parts” of the estate/building;

Option 2

The OCs can nominate one of them through resolutions passed by their Management Committees to make an application for the estate/building.

Similarly, the cap of the headcounts for the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” for the estate/building is to the sum of the cap of the headcounts for all the “parts” of the estate/building; or

Option 3

The PMC(s)/OC(s) of the estate/building can make separate applications for their respective “parts”.

In this case, the cap of the headcounts for the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” will be calculated separately for various “parts” of the estate/building.

We recommend that the application should be made by the OO. The application for the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” may be made based on the manpower before the replacement of the PMC and the estimated manpower after the replacement. The “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” and the “Anti-epidemic Cleansing Subsidy” will be disbursed to the Applicant (i.e. the OO).

Applications shall be submitted on or before 31 May 2020. The Applicant shall submit the particulars of the frontline PM workers who have eventually received the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” to the PMSA within three months after receiving the allowance. For details, please refer to the Application Guidance.

Under the ASPM, if the Applicant is an OO, the Applicant should attach in the application a document (e.g. a copy of meeting minutes) bearing the seal or chop of the OO and signed by the Responsible Person to prove that the application is made as resolved by the OO. In case the Applicant is an OC, generally speaking, the OC shall support by proof that the application has been resolved by the Management Committee.

In order to facilitate applications made by OCs and expedite the disbursement of the subsidy, if the Management Committee cannot convene a meeting for various reasons and resort to a “written resolution” (e.g. with more than half of the Management Committee members signing to support the application) for the application, the PMSA would consider and follow up on a case by case basis to enhance flexibility.

For the purpose of calculating the cap of the headcounts for the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” of each property, only the number of building blocks for domestic use is counted. Car parks, shopping malls, club houses, etc. are excluded.

For the purpose of calculating the cap of the headcounts for the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” of each property, only the number of building blocks for domestic use is counted. Car parks, shopping malls, club houses, etc. are excluded.

The worker concerned will be granted the allowance for the month(s) of employment. For details, please refer to Example 3 of the Application Guidance.

Scenario 1

If the PMC or the OO has engaged a replacement (as the “new member”) for the worker whose employment has been terminated, the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” for the ensuing months may be disbursed to the new worker. The PMC or the OO shall submit the particulars of the frontline PM workers who have eventually received the allowance to the PMSA within three months after receiving the allowance. For details, please refer to the Application Guidance.

Scenario 2
If the PMC or the OO has not engaged a replacement for the worker whose employment has been terminated, resulting in the actual amount of “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” disbursed to frontline PM workers being less than the amount of allowance granted, the Applicant (i.e. the PMC or the OO) shall give notification in a way specified by the HAD and/or the PMSA as soon as practicable. HAD and/or the PMSA will issue the “Notice of Balance Repayment” and the Applicant shall repay the balance in full within one month from the issue date of the notice. For details, please refer to the Application Guidance.

The Applicant may complete the application form based on the estimated manpower arrangement.

If additional frontline cleansing/security workers are engaged after submission of the application, and the number of workers including the additional staff does not exceed the cap of the headcounts for the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance”, the Applicant should notify the PMSA (Telephone: 3696 1156/3696 1166 or Email: aspm@pmsahk.org.hk) as soon as practicable so as to facilitate the PMSA to follow up on a case by case basis. HAD reserves the right to make final decisions on the adjustment of the amount of subsidy.

No. For the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance”, each frontline PM worker counted or benefitted shall be disbursed a monthly allowance of $1,000. If the number of frontline PM workers exceeds the cap, the Applicant (i.e. the PMC or the OO) is encouraged to top up the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” for the worker(s) not covered.

Generally speaking, each frontline PM worker will only be disbursed a monthly “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” of $1,000. The PMSA may give consideration to special cases depending on the individual circumstances.

No. The Applicant may make an application based on the actual manpower arrangement. If the Applicant has engaged both frontline cleansing and security workers, the application should be made in an embracive and fair manner.

No. The “Anti-epidemic Cleansing Subsidy” shall be used for subsidising the payment for heightened cleansing efforts for the building (such as procurement of cleansing products and protective kits), and shall benefit the owners and residents.

Generally speaking, the PMSA will disburse the “Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance” and the “Anti-epidemic Cleansing Subsidy” for the subsidised period to the Applicant on a one-off basis.

The PMSA will disburse the subsidy to the Applicant (i.e. the PMC or the OO). The Applicant may disburse the subsidy to the workers concerned in a way it considers the most appropriate (e.g. disbursing to frontline PM workers through the cleansing or security contractors, provided that the frontline PM workers will acknowledge receipt in the forms prescribed by the PMSA.)