Financial Assistance for Maintenance Scheme ("the Maintenance Scheme")

	Objective
	To help arrest privately-owned graded historic buildings from deterioration due to lack of maintenance by providing financial assistance in the form of grants to their owners for them to carry out minor maintenance works by themselves.
	Amount of Grant
	The amount of grant for each successful application will be determined based on the justifications provided by the applicant. Starting from 1 April 2009, the ceiling of grant for each successful application has been increased from HK$600,000 to HK$1,000,000 to enable the maintenance works required to be carried out in a more comprehensive manner.
	Eligibility
	All owners of privately-owned graded historic buildings in Hong Kong can apply for grants under the Maintenance Scheme. A list of all the graded historic buildings is obtainable from the following link: http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Monument/en/built3.php
	Mode of Operation
	The applicants are required to refer to the Guide to Application, which is obtainable under the page "Application Arrangement", for details about the Maintenance Scheme. The main points on the mode of operation of the Maintenance Scheme are briefly described as follows:
	Government will only provide financial support in the form of grant and owners of historic buildings are required to carry out the maintenance works by themselves. As pre-requisite conditions for accepting the grant, building owners are required to agree to a number of conditions, including not to demolish their buildings, not to transfer the ownership of their buildings and to allow reasonable public access to their buildings for appreciation within an agreed period of time after completion of the maintenance works. Selection of applications will be carried out by a vetting panel comprising representatives from Commissioner for Heritage's Office, Antiquities and Monuments Office and Architectural Services Department. Selection of applications will be based on a number of criteria including urgency of the works, degree of public access allowed, benefits of the maintenance works to the community, etc. Due to limited resources, applications might be subject to prioritization based on factors such as historic value of the building, timing of submissions and whether Government's financial support is required for the maintenance works. For each successful application, Government will determine the amount of grant and other specific conditions for receiving the grant. For the purpose of monitoring the maintenance works, successful applicants are required to submit reports and to allow Government representatives to inspect the maintenance works during their execution and after completion.