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Planning, Land and Infrastructure

Land Conveyancing

The Lands Department's Legal Advisory and Conveyancing Office provides legal advice and conveyancing services for government land transactions. It drafts all government land disposal and lease modification documents, checks titles in land acquisitions, administers the Lands Department Consent Scheme, approves Deeds of Mutual Covenant, processes apportionments of premiums and government rents and recovers arrears of government rents by taking re-entry or vesting action. In 2017, it approved 49 applications for the sale of 16,408 units under construction and approved 50 Deeds of Mutual Covenant.

Land Acquisition

Private land may be acquired for public use through voluntary surrender or resumption under ordinances which provide for compensation for the property's value and the loss of business. If the amount of payment cannot be agreed, either party may seek adjudication at the Lands Tribunal. The Lands Department is involved in resuming land for public works, urban renewal and railway development projects under the Lands Resumption Ordinance and other legislation. In 2017, some 37,800 sq m of private land were acquired and $744.3 million compensation was paid for public works projects; $236.6 million compensation was paid to owners of 51 resumed properties affected by 23 urban renewal projects; and $47 million compensation was paid for railway projects.

Land Registration

The Land Registry registers land-related documents and keeps land records in electronic format for public search. Major types of documents include agreements for the sale and purchase of building units, agreements for the sale and purchase of land, assignments of building units, assignments of land, and mortgages and legal charges. More than three million land registers. and 23 million documents can be retrieved electronically. During the year, 530,822 land documents were lodged for registration.

Hong Kong adopts a deeds registration system. To enhance certainty of title and simplify conveyancing procedures, the Land Titles Ordinance has been enacted to provide for a title registration system but it will not come into effect until a comprehensive review is completed and the necessary amending legislation is passed. The registry has been working closely with stakeholders on revised proposals about rectification and indemnity provisions, options for bringing existing land under the title registration system and a proposal to implement title registration on new land first.

Survey, Mapping and Geospatial Information Service

The Lands Department's Survey and Mapping Office provides survey and mapping services to support land administration and infrastructure development, and develops maps with different themes to meet the public's needs, such as topographic maps, countryside maps and guide books. The office carries out land boundary surveys and provides photogrammetric and aerial survey services. It also maintains a geodetic survey network and the Satellite Positioning Reference Station Network System, which form the essential positioning infrastructure in Hong Kong, as well as the Land Information System, which enables more efficient survey and mapping activities. The office provides support to the Land Survey Authority to administer the

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