Frequently Asked Questions

A: The land register is kept and made available to members of the public to prevent secret and fraudulent conveyances, and to provide means whereby the titles to real and immovable property may be easily traced and ascertained. The information contained in the land register shall not be used for purposes that are not related to the purposes of the land register.

It is advised that before any dealings, up-to-date land search should be conducted with the Land Registry.

A land register comprises 4 sections. You can obtain different information from each section.

(a) Property Particulars

• Lot number and address
• Share of lot
• Lease term (e.g. commencement date )
• Rent per annum

(b) Owner Particulars

• Name of Owners
  Historical owner(s) (chain of ownership)
  Current owner(s)
• Capacity (if not Sole Owner)
  Joint tenants
  Tenants in common
  Administrator/Administratrix
  Executor/Executrix
• Date of Instrument (transaction)
• Date of Registration
• Consideration

(c) Incumbrances

The incumbrances section contains the land documents which affect the property but may not change the ownership, examples are :

• Court Order e.g. Charging Order, etc.
• Mortgage
• Occupation Permit, Deed of Mutual Covenant (for age and use of building)
• Agreements for Sale & Purchase
• Sub-sale Agreement, Nomination

(d) Deeds Pending Registration

This section provides information on documents already lodged for registration against the property but, for one reason or another, registration of the same has not been completed. For a document which has been "stopped" and returned to the lodging parties for clarification, a remark "(中止註冊 REGISTRATION WITHHELD)" is shown against the entry.

Documents listed under the Deeds Pending Registration Section may or may not be eventually registered. The Land Registry will only proceed to register a document when it complies with all requirements under the Land Registration Ordinance (Cap. 128).

A: A "Current" enquiry contains the current information of a property i.e. only the latest transaction in the "Owner Particulars" section and only those subsisting (now affecting) incumbrances.

A "Full" enquiry contains the historical and current information of a property i.e. all transactions that have been registered against the property.

A: Most public housing estates are occupying government land and the right to use such land is granted to the Housing Authority. The Land Registry has no record regarding the names of the occupants of a unit in these public housing estates. However, after the implementation of the Tenants Purchase Scheme, some public housing estates are purchased by the occupants. Therefore, similar to private properties, the Land Registry provides land registers for such public housing estates.

A: There are various ways you can obtain such information :-

• Occupation Permit or Letter of Compliance (if registered) usually contains the date of completion of the building. You may obtain a copy of the relevant document.
• The Rating and Valuation Department provides the Property Information Online at www.rvdpi.gov.hk (Tel No. 2150 8836) for information on age of private domestic properties (excluding village type houses).

A: The user restriction of the lot is in the Government Lease under which the lot is held. For user restriction of the unit, you may refer to the Occupation Permit or the Deed of Mutual Covenant. If the Occupation Permit is not registered (i.e. not available in the Land Registry), you can approach the Buildings Department for a copy.

A: The "Incumbrances" section of the land record contains information of Court Orders. If the incumbrances section contains a 'Court Order', check the contents of the Order. You are advised to seek assistance from your legal representatives on interpretation of Court Orders.

A: Small House

Consent letters (relating to payment of premium) issued by the Lands Department can serve as an indication for payment of the land premium. However, such consent letters may not have been registered in the Land Registry. If you cannot find such consent letter in the land register, you may approach the Lands Department for clarification.

Home Ownership Scheme/Private Sector Participation Scheme Flat

For properties under the above scheme, the Housing Authority issues consent letters certifying the lifting of restriction on sale of properties upon the payment of land premium. Such letters may not have been registered. If you cannot find such consent letter in the land register, you can approach the Housing Authority for clarification.

A: Normally, the creditor will register a document such as Memorandum of Charge in the land register. However, for some cases, such document may not have been registered. The owner of a property should be responsible to prove that there are no arrears against his property when selling the property. The intending purchaser should check with the owner for the most recent receipts for such fees. If the receipts are not available, he should check with the management company or the Rating and Valuation Department.

A: The information is available in the "Property Particulars" section of the land register and the Government Lease / Conditions of a lot. You may approach the Lands Department for assistance.

A: You are advised to check the Unposted Memorial List (UML) by using the IRIS Online Services or Self-service Search services to find out if there are any documents lodged for registration but for one reason or another entries of the documents have not yet been made in the land register. To view the UML, select the "Search Unposted Memorial Information" option from the function menu of IRIS Online Services or the Self-service Terminals, then key in the Lot Type and click "Continue". The UML which contains brief information of the unposted memorials under the required Lot Type including Memorial No., Lot No., address and nature of instrument etc. will be displayed for viewing free of charge.

If you want to obtain additional information of any documents listed on the UML such as date of instrument etc., you can order the Unposted Memorial Information (UMI) by selecting the required item from the UML and add the selected order to the Order List.

A: Buildings Orders on illegal or unauthorised structures may be registered in the land register. Please obtain a copy of the land register and check if there are any outstanding orders issued under Buildings Ordinance. You may also seek confirmation from the Buildings Department. (www.bd.gov.hk)

A: "PT." is an abbreviation stands for "PART". If "PT" is shown in the consideration column of a memorial entry in a land register, it indicates that the related document affects more than one property (e.g. several units, a unit and a car park, etc.). For details of the affected properties, you may place an order for a copy of the memorial for reference.

A: The property remark only reflects that the Remaining Portion of the lot was carved out from the mother lot via Deed Poll Mem. No.XXX. It does not mean that the Remaining Portion of the lot will be further carved out.

A: You can obtain a current land register and check the "Capacity" under the "Owner Particulars" section. If it shows "Joint Tenant", that means the owners own the property as Joint Tenants.