Land Administration and Practice in Hong Kong

by Roger Nissim

Overview

The authoritative guide to the current practices of land administration in Hong Kong.

This book examines both the historical context and current practices of land administration in Hong Kong. Although Hong Kong has an open and business-friendly environment, it is underpinned by a socialist leasehold land tenure system. The government is landlord to virtually all land and so it plays a pivotal role in the administration of this scare, and therefore, valuable resource. As land administration is governed by private contract law rather than legislation, it is constantly evolving with the courts handing down significant decisions on a regular basis. Government practice has had to respond to this as well as the community’s concern over how best land can be administered. This new edition includes substantial and important updates that will ensure that the book will continue to be useful to both students and practitioners of surveying, architecture, planning, and law, as well as to the wider business and financial community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789888754069
Publisher:	Hong Kong University Press
Publication date:	06/06/2022
Edition description:	Fifth Edition, New edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Roger Nissim has been a surveyor in Hong Kong for over fifty years, where he worked in the Lands Department of the Hong Kong Government and in the private sector. He also taught as adjunct professor in the Department of Real Estate of the University of Hong Kong.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Fifth Edition vii

Preface to the First Edition ix

Introduction xi

Section I Historical Development of Land Administration

1 The First Land Sales, 1841-1842 3

2 The Early Years, 1843-1898 9

3 1898 Onwards: The New Territories Lease 16

4 The Sino-British Joint Declaration 1984 and the Basic Law 1990 26

5 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government 36

Section II Present-Day Land Administration

6 Economic Background, Land Needs, and Reclamations 49

7 Lands Department Functions under Administrative Law 58

8 Land Exchange and Lease Modifications 74

9 Development Control in Older Lease Conditions 84

10 Access Arrangements and Rights-of-Way 94

11 Town Planning Controls and Development Restrictions in Lease Conditions 97

12 Land Management and Lease Enforcement 108

Section III Land Administration Problems and Practice Associated with the New Territories

13 Land Exchange Entitlements (Also Known as Letters A/B) 123

14 Small House () Policy and the 300-Foot Rule 129

15 Limitations Ordinance, Adverse Possession, and the Principle of Encroachment 139

16 Tsos () and Tongs () and Their Impact on Land Assembly 144

17 Succession 147

18 Fung Shut () and Graves 149

19 Boundary Disputes, Missing Lots, Missing Documents, and Secondary Evidence 152

Section IV Future Developments in Land Administration

20 How Planning and Land Policy Could Be Used to Enhance Conservation in Hong Kong 159

21 The Land Titles Ordinance 2004 170

Appendices 177

Glossary 211

Bibliography 214

Index 217

Editorial Reviews

Few authors are better qualified than Roger Nissim to write on land administration and practice in Hong Kong. He worked in what was Britain's crown colony (now China's special administrative region) for a quarter of a century, initially as a senior figure in government, and more recently as a manager with a leading local property company.... The author is to be commended on his book's coherent structure, clear style and succinct analysis. It is a must for anyone interested in the pivotal role of land as a vital resource in a dynamic economy.

Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors

Few authors are better qualified than Roger Nissim to write on land administration and practice in Hong Kong. He worked in what was Britain's crown colony (now China's special administrative region) for a quarter of a century, initially as a senior figure in government, and more recently as a manager with a leading local property company.... The author is to be commended on his book's coherent structure, clear style and succinct analysis. It is a must for anyone interested in the pivotal role of land as a vital resource in a dynamic economy. — Review in the magazine of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors

From the Publisher