Charter on Good Practices of Estate Agents in Handling Subdivided Unit Tenancy

2023-09-22

The tenancy control regime for subdivided units (“SDU”) under Part IVA of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance (“Ordinance”) has been implemented for over a year. The EAA also issued a relevant practice circular last year to regulate the practices of licensed estate agents in order to comply with the Ordinance. Taking the initiative to further protect the interests of the underprivileged in the community, the EAA has recently made every effort to facilitate the estate agency trade to sign the “Charter on Good Practices of Estate Agents in Handling Subdivided Unit Tenancy” (“the Charter”), thereby encouraging the trade to step forward in fulfilling their corporate social responsibilities.

By signing the Charter, estate agency shops pledge to abide by the two “won’ts” and the six “wills”. The two “won’ts” include: (1) we won’t assist the landlord to overcharge for public utilities and services, and (2) we won’t assist the landlord to contravene the requirements for security of tenure. The six “wills” include: (1) we will explain to the landlord the legal responsibility for stamping an SDU tenancy agreement, (2) we will remind the landlord in writing to provide the tenant with rent receipts within seven days and submit Form AR2 within 60 days, (3) we will provide Form AR3 to the tenant, (4) we will adopt the SDU tenancy agreement template recommended by the Government or the EAA, (5) we will explain the terms of the SDU tenancy agreement to the tenant clearly and (6) we will arrange training for our employees.

It is easy to identify the estate agency shops that signed the Charter. A logo sticker of the Charter will be posted on the signatory’s shop window and relevant promotional collateral will be displayed inside the shop. Consumers can also find the list of signatories on the EAA’s website by clicking here. As of 15 September 2023, a total of 63 shops have signed the Charter. We believe that there will be more shops signing the Charter later and the online list will be updated regularly.

In addition, I would like to recommend all consumers to click here to read the promotional leaflet that the EAA produced regarding the practice circular on SDU tenancy, so that consumers can understand estate agents’ role and duties in handling SDU tenancy.

Ruby Hon
Chief Executive Officer
Estate Agents Authority