The deadly Tai Po fire in November exposed an array of underlying issues that contributed to the tragedy. This includes slack building management, suspected bid rigging in renovation work and weak fire safety enforcement. The deep-rooted problems in building management, including bid-rigging, inflated costs and slack supervision, were put into perspective in a recent Post reportAdvertisementCorruption in building maintenance projects is nothing new. Subsequent probes into the extent of bid-rigging revealed that some consultant firms hired by homeowners for maintenance projects had colluded with contractors, allowing bids to be won at unusually low prices. Among the proposals by the authorities is an expanded role for the Urban Renewal Authority in private building maintenance projects, with service providers being subject to criminal and disciplinary record checks under a centralised platform.