I want to purchase a second-hand property

When estate agents need to fill in the “Property Information Form” to provide:

1. Address of the property: The accurate address of the property. If the sale and purchase concerned involves a rooftop or car parking space etc, it should also be clearly specified in the address.
2. Ownership: Name(s) of current owner(s) of the property registered in the Land Registry⁵.
3. Encumbrances: Subsisting encumbrances of the property registered in the Land Registry, such as court orders, building orders, slope maintenance orders, lease, mortgage or charge and other matters registered as encumbrances.
4. Floor area⁶: Obtained from the Rating and Valuation Department or stipulated in the agreement for sale and purchase of the first assignment, it must be specified if no information can be obtained from the above two sources.
5. Year of completion: Year of completion of the property as stipulated in the Occupation Permit (“OP”) or, the certificate of compliance or letter of no objection to occupy.
6. User restrictions: User of the property specified under the Occupation Permit (“OP”). The property must be used in compliance with the OP and the Deed of Mutual Covenant (“DMC”) of the building. For example, if the OP specifies the use of the property as non-domestic, the property cannot be used for domestic purposes; if the OP specifies the use of the property as domestic, the property cannot be used for nondomestic purposes.
7. Terms of government lease: The unexpired term of the Government lease of the property, whether there is a right of renewal of the lease, and the term of the proposed lease if a Government lease is to be granted.

The Estate Agents Practice (General Duties and Hong Kong Residential Properties) Regulation states that an estate agent should carry out a land search in respect of the property and supply a copy to the purchaser or tenant immediately before the signing of the agreement for sale and purchase. Even if the agreement was entered into late at night, it would be considered non-compliant if the land search was carried out on the following day.

From the land search records of a property, purchasers can ascertain the property owner’s identity and whether the property is subject to any encumbrances, such as mortgage, demolition or alteration order or slope maintenance order.

If a demolition or alteration order is registered against a property. It implies that the property may have unauthorised structures. Purchasers may face issues such as safety risks and defective title of the property. The Government may event exercise its right of re-entry or closure of the property.