ENG-1958 — Page 186

Chapter 10: Land and Housing

LAND

Land Tenure. The form of land tenure in use in Hong Kong is leasehold from the Crown. In the early days of the Colony, Crown leases were granted for 75, 99, or 999 years, and the present practice is for leases to be granted for 75 years, renewable for a further 75 years at a re-assessed Crown rent. In the New Terri- tories, in order to coincide with the period of the lease from China, which will expire on 30th June 1997, Crown leases are conventionally expressed as being for the residue of a term of 75 years from 1st July 1898, renewable for a further 24 years, less the last three days.

Land administration in Hong Kong and Kowloon is the respon- sibility of the Director of Public Works, who is concurrently the Building Authority and Chairman of the Town Planning Board. The Director also deals with New Kowloon, which is that part of the New Territories situated immediately north of Boundary Street, Kowloon, and south of the Kowloon hills. The District Commis- sioner, New Territories, is responsible for land administration throughout the rest of the New Territories. Records of land grants by the Crown and of all private land transactions are kept in the Registrar General's Department (see Chapter 13) for Hong Kong and Kowloon, and in the District Offices situated in Kowloon, Tai Po and Ping Shan, for the New Territories, with the exception of certain lots which are administered by the Director of Public Works and are usually known as Inland Lots. These cover the majority of the built-up parts of New Kowloon and deeds relating to them are recorded in the Registrar General's Department.

The principal laws relating to the development and use of land are the Buildings Ordinance, 1955, the Town Planning Ordinance (Chapter 131) and the New Territories Ordinance (Chapter 97).

Land Policy. The Government's basic policy is to sell leases to the highest bidder at public auction; all land disposed of for