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Planning, Land and Infrastructure
premium and government rents, and recovers arrears of government rents by taking re-entry or vesting action.
Land Acquisition
Acquisition of private land for public use may be achieved through voluntary surrender, where. appropriate, or resumption under those ordinances which provide for compensation for the property's value and for the loss of business. If agreement on the amount of money to be paid cannot be reached, either party may go to the Lands Tribunal for adjudication. Some 9,781 sq m of private land were acquired in 2015. Compensation amounting to $450 million was paid.
The Lands Department was also involved in resuming land for urban renewal projects. In 2015, compensation totalling $400.2 million was paid under the relevant ordinance to owners of 58 resumed properties affected by 18 urban renewal projects. Compensation amounting to about $27 million was paid for a number of railway projects, including the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, the West Rail and the West Island Line.
Land Registration
The Land Registry provides a comprehensive service for registering documents affecting land and keeping land records in electronic format for public search. More than three million land registers and 23 million documents can be retrieved electronically.
Registration Services
Land Registry Business Volume in 2015
(Distribution of Land Documents Lodged for Registration) Nature
Agreements for sale and purchase of building units
Agreements for sale and purchase of land
Assignments of building units.
Assignments of land
Building mortgages/building legal charges
Other mortgages/legal charges
Others
Total
Search Services
(Distribution by Search Mode)
Number
76,159
3,292
96,636
6,758
65
95,626
207,977
486,513
Counter Searches
Number
411,776
Per cent
8%
Online Searches via Internet
Number
4,834,585
Per cent
92%
Hong Kong adopts a deeds registration system. To enhance certainty of title and simplify conveyancing procedures, the Land Titles Ordinance has been enacted but it will not come into effect until a comprehensive review is completed and the necessary amending legislation is passed. During the year, the registry consulted major stakeholders on a further revised conversion mechanism and options for dealing with the existing land under the current system
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