In the early hours of Sunday 17th February 2008, thousands of people from across Hong Kong began to gather for the start of the Standard Chartered Marathon. Together they were raising money to provide greater opportunity for the disabled to enjoy sport. Among the thousands were eight men and women from the Land Registry. With a number of their colleagues, family and friends I greeted these runners as they completed the race at Victoria Park. After showering and changing, several of them then headed back to the Land Registry to do overtime work. That’s what the men and women of the Land Registry are like, running for Hong Kong, working for Hong Kong, caring to serve this city better.

That hundreds of Land Registry staff had to do many hours of overtime work at weekends as well as on weekdays during the year gives an indication of the scale of the surge in business that we faced. That we finished the year with our performance target for registration exceeded, with increased levels of customer satisfaction and with new ideas for service improvement is a testament to the quality and commitment of the individuals who together make the Land Registry work.

The past year brought the Land Registry the highest volume of work since 1997. Registration increased by over 35% and search requests were up nearly 25% on 2006. The Registration and Search divisions had to cope with this surge with a much leaner structure than in 1997 as many experienced officers have been transferred to work on preparation for title registration. Constraints on accommodation meant that there was little room to bring in extra staff quickly to meet the demand. By late 2007 a large backlog of pending registration work had built up and it began to look possible that we would not meet our pledged target for completing registrations. By dint of hard work and rapid development of new measures to speed up the flow of registration work the pressure from the influx of new deeds was contained. By the end of the financial year the backlog was in sight of being cleared, even though the daily intake remained well above 2006 levels.

Our IT systems were very much on our minds over the year. Maintaining the security and integrity of the data we hold for the community is a constant concern. Technological change creates risks, as do human habits. Alongside this constant concern were problems highlighted by two incidents during the year. First, in October, core system software had to be upgraded. Internet services were suspended for two days while this was done. On resumption of services, severe instabilities were experienced. Our staff and contractors worked flat out to resolve the problems and ensure delivery of services to customers but it took several days before smooth operations could be restored. Second was the relocation in December of our main IT centre from rented private premises to a Government owned IT centre. During the relocation our main services again had to be suspended for five days. The backup service we could provide could not meet the full needs of clients. It is clear from our customers that suspension of services is not acceptable. I apologize to all who were affected by the disruptions.

To address the demand for uninterrupted services as quickly as possible we decided to fast-track a project to develop a new public search system. This will operate independently from the current IRIS system and the future title registration system. Information services for the public will then not be affected by any work that has to be done to develop or enhance the internal registration systems. It will provide a single point of access for information held under either the current deeds register or the future title register and will be a dual system so that services can be maintained while upgrading is carried out. Customers are naturally pressing for the new system to be ready at once. Given the scale of the project a quick fix is not possible. We need to ensure both effective security and efficient integration with two internal registration systems, one of which – the title registration system – is itself only at the development stage. I do not expect that the new system will be ready before the end of 2009. In the interim, we continue to invest in increasing the stability and range of services available on IRIS.

Of greatest long term significance for the Land Registry and for the quality of service that we can give to Hong Kong is the smooth introduction of title registration. The extent of the preparation work carried out during the year is outlined in the section on Title Registration in the main report. I would like to address impatience that many in the legal profession and in other quarters have raised with me over the year over the slow progress being made towards commencement of title registration. I have had to question whether the effort we are putting into improving the Land Titles Ordinance (LTO) before commencement is worthwhile, or whether we are letting the best become the enemy of the good. After this re-examination I am convinced that the remaining issues with the enacted legislation deserve the scrutiny now being given to them. If not addressed, the complications over the conversion mechanism, the ambiguities in the rectification and indemnity provisions and the uncertainties over the interrelationship of the LTO with other ordinances will cause problems for professionals, for the public and for the Government that will prejudice the operation of the new system. Ensuring that the new system can be introduced in an efficient manner that wins and retains the confidence of the professions and the public is essential to the success of the reform.

I remain very grateful for the encouragement, support, and unpaid effort that the members of the Law Society’s working party on title registration have continued to give over the year. Peter Aherne finally stepped down as Chairman of the working party, the Law Society sadly having noticed that he had retired from practice. His quality of mind and character brought great benefit to the development of the LTO since the idea for it first took root in the late 1980s. I am delighted that he is continuing to serve on the working party. His place as Chairman has been ably taken up by Andy Ngan. I am glad to see that the stalwart support of John Davison, Judith Sihombing, Emily Lam and Vincent Liang continues as well. The retention of their expertise as we make the final push to establish the land titles system is welcome. So too are the steps that the Law Society is taking to bring new members into the working party and the education committee. Conveyancing may not be the first thought of ambitious young lawyers today, but the value that society and the economy derive from a dependable, efficient land registration system and well conducted conveyancing makes this a matter deserving of attention – quite apart from the relief from drudgery for conveyancing solicitors and their clerks that title registration will bring. Being able to deal with land and property securely and easily, whether for families or for businesses, has an enduring value for Hong Kong.

I have also been grateful for extensive exchanges with colleagues in Land Registries around the world. The highlight of this was the conference in Dublin arranged by the Property Registration Authority of Ireland to mark the 300th Anniversary of the Irish Land Registration Act. Hong Kong’s Land Registration Ordinance (LRO) is largely based upon that Irish Act of 1707 and we are one of the few jurisdictions still administering the deeds registration system that it laid down. Information on recent issues with rectification and indemnity in other jurisdictions, together with ideas for development in services, came from this conference. Beyond that, however, was a growing network of contacts and experience sharing between staff in this registry and counterparts elsewhere. Programmes for overseas attachment to help prepare for the operation of title registration have been stepped up and a host of individuals around the world have responded patiently and helpfully to many requests from us for information and advice. We have tried to respond as helpfully in return. This development, enabled and encouraged by the internet, will contribute greatly to the development of professional capacity in all our Land Registries. Over years to come I am sure much benefit will flow from these exchanges to the communities we serve. From our counterparts we can see how far we have to go to achieve our goal of becoming the best in all we do and we get the best encouragement to press on.

Looking forward, the Land Registry is in a robust financial position to manage the investments in systems and training that are needed to improve existing services and allow title registration to commence. Inflationary pressures from the wider economy and the extent of the work needed to ensure a smooth conversion to title registration make it likely that we will need to review our fee structure before long but we do not propose to make any changes in the coming year. While our minds and effort will remain firmly focused on clearing the final hurdles to title registration, we will continue to take whatever opportunities we find along the way to improve the quality of existing services, whether by ourselves or in collaboration with other parties. For example, we are supporting Rating and Valuation Department’s property information service and preparing to launch a one stop service for stamp duty collection for property transactions on behalf of Inland Revenue Department.

If business levels continue to grow in the coming year, constraints on accommodation will affect our capacity to respond quickly without again having to ask staff to work extensive overtime. We are working to obtain new office space as quickly as possible since, irrespective of business volume, we need to free space in our main building for title registration services and find room for further development and testing of new IT systems.

On the other hand, we have reserves and flexibility should there be a downturn in business. Lower current revenues should not cause problems over the short to medium term for the substantial investment plans and manpower development needed for title registration and other service improvements.

In conclusion, I again want to thank all the staff in the Land Registry for a great effort over the year, and to thank all customers and partners for their support, ideas and encouragement. Government has value to the extent that it increases the ability of people to go about their lives and business with less worry. I think that the work that the men and women of the Land Registry do contributes significantly to this social and economic good. I have been very pleased to see how many people over the year have shown that they value the work done by individuals in the department, as well as the quality of the overall service we provide. I have no doubt that every member of the Land Registry will continue to do their best to deserve the trust and confidence placed in them, and I will continue to value the pleasure of working for them.



K. A. Salkeld, J.P.

The Land Registrar & General Manager
The Land Registry Trading Fund, Hong Kong
18 September 2008