The content of a Tenancy Agreement will normally include the period/length of the tenancy, rent, payment period, deposit, use (e.g. residence, office, or factory) and other usual terms that will be described in the other parts of this topic.

Depending on the period of the tenancy and the capacities of the parties entering into the agreement (whether a party to an agreement is an individual, partnership or a limited company, etc.), different formalities for execution are required.

While the terms “Tenancy Agreement” and “Lease” are often used as if they are synonyms, there are some technical differences between them.

Period/length of the tenancy

A Lease is generally a document that creates a tenancy for more than 3 years . It has to be executed in the form of a deed, meaning that it has to be signed, sealed and delivered by the parties. That is to say, the parties have to sign the Lease, affix a red seal (a small red wafer) next to their signatures and exchange copies of the lease.

A Tenancy Agreement is generally a document that creates a tenancy for a period not exceeding 3 years . The parties to a Tenancy Agreement only have to sign it, without needing to affix the red seal and exchanging the document. To protect the interests of both parties, however, it is recommended that the parties should exchange copies of the Tenancy Agreement.

Capacities of the parties

The capacities of the parties entering into the Lease/Tenancy Agreement also affect the formalities of execution.

An individual, sole proprietorship or a partnership entering into a Lease must affix a red seal next to the signature of each signing person. A limited company must affix its common seal next to the signature(s) of the person(s) authorised to sign the Lease. Furthermore, the Lease has to be executed in accordance with requirements stipulated under the company’s Articles of Association.

If the party to a Tenancy Agreement is a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a limited company, the chop or the rubber stamp (as the case may be) of the signing party also has to be affixed onto the Tenancy Agreement together with the signature of the signatory.

Table 1

The following table summarises the wording that may be used for the execution clause in a Lease/Tenancy Agreement (i.e. the part of a Tenancy Agreement/Lease where you sign your name).

If the property has been mortgaged to a bank/financial institution, the landlord must obtain the prior consent from that company before leasing it out. For more information regarding this matter, please go to Properties Arrangements > Landlord and tenant > Properties with mortgages .

1. Is it necessary to have a solicitor to represent

No law requires a party to a contract to be represented by a solicitor. As a matter of fact, some people enter into standard form tenancy agreements without obtaining legal advice or even without examining the content of the agreements.

Parties that have the benefit of solicitors, however, have their legal interests better protected because their solicitors will draft or scrutinise a tenancy document from a legal perspective with the parties’ interests in mind.

A tenancy document prepared by solicitors typically covers more aspects than standard form agreements because the former tends to identify more issues that can potentially lead to disputes. By identifying and dealing with these issues before the parties commit themselves to the tenancy document, the chance of future disputes between the parties may be reduced.

2. I heard about someone who claimed that they were the owner of a property for let. After the potential tenant had paid the deposit and the rent in advance, the “landlord” disappeared with the money. If I am going to rent a property, then how can I be sure that

The Land Registry provides a “Land Search” service to the public. Any person can conduct a search at the Land Registry to ascertain the ownership particulars of any property in Hong Kong. A potential tenant should always conduct a land search before entering into a tenancy document.

If the potential tenant is renting the property through an estate agent or has retained a solicitor firm, then the agent and the firm are duty bound to conduct such a search to protect the tenant’s interests.

3. What major government departments are responsible for governing tenancy matters in Hong Kong? To which department(s) should a party go to if a tenancy dispute/problem arises?

The Rating and Valuation Department is responsible for administering the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance ( Cap.7 of the Laws of Hong Kong). Regarding tenancy matters, it also provides such services as endorsement of Notice of New Letting or Renewal Agreement , issuance of Certificate of Rateable Value and determination of the primary use of a property (i.e. whether it is used as a domestic or business/non-domestic premises). The Rent Officers of the Rating and Valuation Department will also answer public queries on tenancy matters through a telephone hotline at 21508229.

The Lands Tribunal is the major body responsible for handling tenancy disputes. Unlike the Court, a tribunal is characterized by informality. For example, the judge sitting at the Tribunal is called a presiding officer. The lawyer and the presiding officer do not have to wear court dress. The presiding officer plays a more intervening role and is more ready to discuss the issues with the parties.

If the dispute is purely about a monetary claim of $50,000 or less, then the claimant can make the claims at the Small Claims Tribunal . If the amount of the claim is higher or the relevant legal issue is more complex, then the parties can also bring the case to the District Court or the Court of First Instance of the High Court (please refer to Properties Arrangements > Landlord and tenant > How to recover the outstanding rent and get back the property? for more details).

4. How can I obtain tenancy information concerning the Government properties (such as public rental housing or shopping centres run by the Government)?

If you want to obtain tenancy information on public rental housing, please visit the Housing Authority and the Housing Department’s webpage .

If you want to know more about the tenancy matters on Government shopping centres, please visit the Housing Authority and the Housing Department’s webpage .

5. What is the difference between a tenancy and a licence?

A tenancy has the legal effect of passing an interest in land from the landlord to the tenant. It means that the tenant is given the right of occupation. If a landlord is in breach of a tenancy document, then the tenant can claim damages (compensation) against the landlord and continue to occupy the property in question.

In contrast, a licence creates no interest in land. The licensor only allows the licensee to use the land, not to exclusively occupy it. The licensee’s remedy against the licensor’s breach of the licence may lie only in claiming damages, but not in occupation of the property. Therefore, a licence is typically used for short-term occupation (e.g. for several weeks or months) or where the licensee does not have exclusive occupation of the property, e.g. a car parking space , a newsstand or a “kiosk” in a shopping mall.

To demonstrate the concept of “interest in land”, it is worth noting that there is no interest in land in the external walls of a building because a wall, being a vertical surface, is not land. Therefore, the owner of the rights and interests in the external walls of a building cannot let the walls to another party, but can only license the rights to use the walls.

It should also be noted that as a licence does not transfer any interest in land, it is not liable to stamp duty. However, it would be futile to label a document as a licence just to avoid stamp duty. Whether a document creates a tenancy or a licence does not depend on the name of the document, but on the factual circumstances evidenced by the document. A major factor in differentiating between a tenancy and a licence is to see whether the user has exclusive occupation or possession of the property. Subject to facts that will vary from case to case, the law generally accepts that a grant of exclusive occupation (the user can occupy the property solely and privately) for a term at periodic payments creates a tenancy.

The above matter involves complex legal arguments. You must consult a lawyer if you have further queries.

6. Before signing the formal tenancy agreement or lease, a tenant may sometimes be asked by a landlord to sign a document called “agreement for lease” or “provisional tenancy agreement”. What are the consequences of signing this document?

An intending landlord and an intending tenant may enter into an agreement for lease prior to the execution of the lease/tenancy agreement itself. By signing this agreement, the intending landlord agrees to give, and the intending tenant agrees to take, a lease in the future.

The agreement for lease/provisional tenancy agreement is a contract. It must, therefore, satisfy the requirements of a contract. There must be offer from one party, acceptance from the other party, consideration, intention to create legal relations and so forth. The terms of the agreement must be sufficiently certain, including:

1. the name of the parties;
2. the name and address of the premises;
3. the commencement date of the lease;
4. duration of the lease;
5. the rent, and other consideration.

An agreement for lease/provisional tenancy agreement is legally binding upon the parties to the agreement. If such an agreement is signed and one party subsequently refuses to sign the formal lease or tenancy agreement, the other party can apply to the court for an order of specific performance. That is, to apply for a court order to compel the defaulting party to fulfil the obligations as stipulated on the agreement.

Instead of signing an agreement for lease/provisional tenancy agreement, another possible scenario is that the tenant may be required to sign a document titled “offer to lease”. This document will then be signed (i.e. accepted) by the landlord. In practice, the consequences of signing an offer to lease are similar to that of signing an agreement for lease.

For more about basic requirements of a contract, please go to “Business and Commerce” under the CLIC website.

A tenancy document is usually executed in counterparts, both of which are forwarded to the Stamp Office of the Inland Revenue Department for stamping within 30 days after the date of execution.

If the tenancy document is a Lease, then it should also be registered at the Land Registry within 30 days of the date of execution, otherwise it will lose priority under the Land Registration Ordinance (Cap.128 of the Laws of Hong Kong).

The landlord of a domestic property should also submit a Notice of New Letting or Renewal Agreement (Form CR109) to the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation for endorsement within 1 month of the execution of the tenancy document. A landlord is not entitled to maintain a legal action to recover rent under a tenancy document (in case the tenant fails to pay rent) if the Commissioner does not endorse the Form CR109. However, a landlord who does not submit the form within the one month period may later do so after paying a fee of $310.

1. How is stamp duty calculated on a tenancy document?

Stamp duty is a tax on certain written documents that evidence transactions. Parties to a tenancy document are liable to pay stamp duty on the document according to Schedule 1 of the Stamp Duty Ordinance ( Cap. 117 of the Laws of Hong Kong). The rate of stamp duty varies with the term/period of the tenancy. The current rates are as follows.

$5 is also be payable for the stamping of each counterpart of the tenancy document.

A licence does not transfer any interest in land and is not liable for stamp duty. However, if there is any doubt as to whether a tenancy document is liable for stamp duty, then it is good practice to seek adjudication from the Stamp Office. The current adjudication fee is $50.

No law specifies whether the landlord or the tenant should pay the stamp duty. Therefore, the parties to a Tenancy Agreement can freely agree between themselves on their respective shares of stamp duty. In most cases, the parties will pay the stamp duty in equal shares.

Example

There is a two month rent-free period in a tenancy with a term of three years and a rent of $10,000 per month. How can the stamp duty be calculated for this Tenancy Agreement?

The stamp duty chargeable on a tenancy document and its counterpart is based on the rent payable or the yearly or average yearly rent. A rent-free period will therefore diminish the base on which stamp duty is calculated. The following examples will serve to illustrate how a rent-free period affects the stamp duty payable.

2. What are the consequences of failing to stamp a tenancy document?

An obvious consequence is that the landlord and the tenant will be liable to civil proceedings by the Collector of Stamp Duty of the Inland Revenue Department .

Moreover, a tenancy document must be stamped before it can be lodged with the Lands Registry for registration.

A more important consequence is that the Court may not accept an unstamped tenancy document as evidence in civil proceedings. In other words, a party will have difficulties in enforcing the tenancy document against the other party (who has breached the Tenancy Agreement or Lease) in Court.

3. Some tenancy documents must be registered with the Land Registry but some do not. Why?

The major purpose of registering documents at the Lands Registry is to notify the public of all documents affecting lands in Hong Kong and to set up a priority system regarding documents affecting a particular property. Once a document is registered, the public is deemed to have notice of its existence and its content. The date of registration also affects the priority of a party’s rights in a particular property. A tenancy document, being an instrument affecting land, is of course registrable at the Lands Registry.

The laws that govern the registration of documents at the Lands Registry are contained primarily in the Land Registration Ordinance ( Cap.128 of the Laws of Hong Kong). Strictly speaking, the Land Registration Ordinance does not contain any provision that compels the registration of documents. It only spells out the consequences of non-registration. Therefore, the question should be: why is it that some tenancy documents should be registered with the Lands Registry?

Lease and Tenancy Agreement

Although a tenancy document is registrable with the Lands Registry, Section 3(2) of the Land Registration Ordinance provides that the principles of notice and priority do not apply to “bona fide leases at rack rent for any term not exceeding 3 years”.

Therefore, a document that creates a tenancy for a term of more than 3 years (i.e. a Lease) should be registered, otherwise it is prone to be defeated by successors in title of the landlord and will lose its priority against other registered documents that affect the same property.

In contrast, a document that creates a tenancy for a term of 3 years or less (i.e. a Tenancy Agreement) does not gain or lose anything by registration.

However, if a Tenancy Agreement contains an option to renew the existing tenancy, it should be registered even though the term of the tenancy does not exceed 3 years. An option to renew confers on the tenant a right to continue to rent the property after the expiry of the current term, i.e. to renew the existing tenancy. As this option to renew represents a legal interest in land and affects the principles of notice and priority, the relevant Tenancy Agreement should be registered.

To play it safe, parties to a Tenancy Agreement should check with either the Land Registry or legal professionals to ascertain the necessity of registration.

Every well-drafted tenancy document, whether for a domestic or non-domestic property, will contain a clause that entitles the landlord to forfeit the tenancy (i.e. to terminate the tenancy and to re-enter the property) if the tenant fails to duly pay rent. Even if the tenancy document does not contain a forfeiture clause, the law generally implies such a right of forfeiture .

Regarding tenancies of domestic properties that were created on or after 27 December 2002, section 117 of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance implies in such tenancies a covenant on the part of the tenant to pay the rent on the due date and a condition for forfeiture if that covenant is broken by virtue of non-payment of rent within 15 days of the due date.

Regarding tenancies of non-domestic properties , section 126 of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance provides that in the absence of any express covenant for the payment of rent and condition for forfeiture, there will be implied in every tenancy a covenant to pay the rent on the due date and a condition for forfeiture for non-payment within 15 days of that date.

Therefore, in general, if a tenant is late in paying the rent for 15 days, the landlord is entitled to terminate the tenancy. The tenant, however, can save the tenancy by paying all of the outstanding rent in arrears before the landlord takes possession of the property.

1. My tenant has failed to pay rent for two months. What can I do to recover the rent and the possession of my property?

If a tenant fails to pay rent, then the following measures are usually available to the landlord.

a. Action for the recovery of outstanding rent

If landlords intend only to recover the outstanding rent but not to regain possession of the properties, then they may make their claim for rent arrears at one of the followings.

– The Small Claims Tribunal : for claims of $75,000 or less (To get more information about how to prepare for the trial (from both the Claimant’s and the Defendant’s perspective), please click here ;
– The District Court : for claims that exceed $75,000 but do not exceed $3,000,000;
– The Court of First Instance of the High Court , which has unlimited jurisdiction.

Landlords of domestic property should ensure that they have submitted a Notice of New Letting or Renewal Agreement (Form CR109) to the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation for endorsement within one month of the execution of the tenancy document. Landlords of domestic properties are not entitled to maintain legal action to recover rent under tenancy documents if the Commissioner does not endorse the form. However, landlords who do not submit the form within the one month period can do so at any time after paying a fee of $310.

b. Action for forfeiture (to get back the property) and to recover outstanding rent

If landlords believe that their tenants have been absconded or will not be able to pay the rent for the remaining term of the tenancy, then they will probably want to get back the property and recover the rent in arrears. In such circumstances, the landlords are said to be exercising their right of forfeiture and may file their claims at:

– the Lands Tribunal ;
– the District Court if the outstanding rent does not exceed $3,000,000 and the rateable value of the property does not exceed $320,000; or
– the Court of First Instance of the High Court for outstanding rent of any amount.

The landlord, if successful in obtaining a judgment against the tenant, will be able to apply to the tribunal/appropriate court for a Writ of Possession . Upon the issue of the Writ of Possession, the court bailiff will recover the possession of the property on the landlord’s behalf.

Jurisdiction of the High Court

It should be noted that although the High Court has unlimited jurisdiction to handle any of the above claims, it normally will not entertain a claim that falls within the jurisdiction of the District Court or the Lands Tribunal.

Interim payment

In simple words, “interim payment” is the payment made by one of the parties to the other party in a lawsuit before the completion of the court trail (i.e. before the judge delivers the final judgment on the relevant case). The payee (usually the plaintiff) must first apply to court and obtain the relevant court order before he could entitle to interim payment.

Application for interim payment is common in situations where the tenant has been in continuous possession of the premises, refusing to vacate and paying no rent at all. In such a situation, the landlord may commence legal proceedings against the tenant for forfeiture of tenancy, damages (compensation), and mesne profits (the rent that should be paid by the tenant for the period between the expiry of tenancy and the date of vacation). However, it would take some time before the landlord’s alleged grievance can be heard before a judge in court. In this waiting period, the landlord may be precluded from obtaining the contractual rent (from the tenant) or the prevailing market rent (if the landlord finds a new tenant) due to the continuous occupation of the premises by the tenant. The landlord should not be deprived of money which he would be entitled to recover from the tenant in the period leading to case being heard in court.

If, on the hearing of an application, the court is satisfied that:

1. the plaintiff’s legal action includes a claim for possession of land (to get back the property); and
2. if the legal action proceeded to trial, the defendant would likely be held liable to pay to the plaintiff a sum of money in respect of the defendant’s use and occupation of the land,

the court may order the defendant to make an interim payment to the plaintiff. Before the court exercises its discretion, it would take into consideration any set-off, cross-claim or counterclaim by the defendant.

You must seek legal advice on any grounds for obtaining an interim payment before you make the relevant application to court.

c. Action for distress

Distress means the seizure, detention and sale of movable chattels/goods found in the rented property to satisfy the rent arrears. Due to the nature of distress, it is mostly used in cases in which a tenant is still operating a business at the rented property. Part III of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance governs the procedures and formalities for applications for distress.

The application for distress is an ex-parte application (by one party only), meaning that the tenant will not have the chance to appear before the judge to make any submission (or objection). This is to avoid the tenant knowing of the application and dissipating the available assets.

The landlord must file an affidavit/affirmation (please refer to “Bringing or Defending a Civil Case” under the CLIC website for more information) to support the application. If the Court accepts the landlord’s application, then a warrant of distress is issued. The bailiff then enters the property, seizes the movable chattels/goods found inside and in the apparent possession of the tenant, and sells the chattels/goods to satisfy the rent in arrears. As distress is complicated both in terms of procedures and legality, it is usually done with the assistance of legal professionals.

2. My tenant has failed to pay rent for several months and has deserted the property. Can I regain possession of my property by breaking open the door, throwing away the tenant’s belongings and changing the lock?

A tenancy document will usually contain a clause that allows the landlord to re-enter the property if the tenant fails to pay rent. However, it is unsafe for the landlord to rely solely on this clause and re-enter the property in a self-help manner. The tenant can reappear a few months later and allege that the landlord has misappropriated valuables left in the property.

Apart from civil liability, the landlord may also face criminal charges. Section 119V of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance expressly provides that any person who unlawfully deprives a tenant of occupation of the relevant premises commits an offence and may be liable to a fine or even imprisonment.

Therefore, even if it may be quite certain that the tenant has deserted the property, the landlord should go through the appropriate legal procedures, which will eventually lead to the recovery of the property with the assistance of the bailiff. For more information, please refer to Q1.

At first sight, a landlord should not have to bother with what the tenant is doing in the property as long as the tenant duly pays the rent and keeps the property in good condition. However, the issue is not as simple as that. A property used for a non-authorised purpose may create trouble for its owner.

1. Why is it necessary to ascertain the primary use, for example “domestic” or “non-domestic”, of a property?

A tenancy document usually contains a clause which specifies that the property is only to be used for domestic or non-domestic purposes. If a landlord believes that a tenant is in breach of this clause, such as running a shop in a residential property, the landlord must obtain proof of such a breach before proceeding with further action.

Where a question or dispute arises about whether a property is used for domestic or non-domestic purposes, one may ask the Rating and Valuation Department to issue a Certificate of Primary User of Premises for verification. If the dispute has been brought up to the Court, then you should submit Form TR4 to apply for the Certificate. If the dispute has not yet been brought up to the Court, then you should submit Form TR4D and pay the application fee of $3,850. Although the Certificate does not provide a conclusive answer to the issue, it will be persuasive when the issue is brought to Court.

For more details regarding the Certificate, please contact the Rating and Valuation Department at 21520111 or 21508229.

2. I have let a residential property to a tenant and I recently found that the tenant is using the property as an office. Will this affect my interests or cause any liability to me as a landlord? If my tenant conducts criminal activities there, what further problems will I face?

A property that is used for a non-authorised purpose may create trouble for its owner (the landlord) in the following ways.

Breach of Government Lease

An interesting phenomenon in Hong Kong is that property owners do not really own their properties. All lands in Hong Kong (except the piece on which St. John’s Cathedral is standing) are owned by the government, and landowners only lease their land (You may go to “Sale and Purchase of Property” under the CLIC website for more details). A typical owner of a flat in a building is therefore only a holder of shares in the land on which the building stands. When the government leases a piece of land to the “owner”, a contract is signed. The contract, generally called a Government Lease , imposes various conditions on the “owners” and their successor in title. One commonly found condition is that the “owners” have to comply with the land use purpose specified in the Government Lease. If there is a breach of this condition, for example conducting business activities at a property designated for residential use, then the government is entitled to re-enter and take back the possession of the property. Although such a drastic measure is seldom used, the Lands Department may require the “owner” to apply for a temporary waiver and pay a waiver fee, so that the government will temporarily waive its rights of re-entry.

Breach of the Deed of Mutual Covenant

A deed of mutual covenant is a contract that is binding on all owners of a multi-unit or multi-storey building. It basically sets out the rules for the management of the building.

A standard deed of mutual covenant will state that a unit owner must comply with the terms of the relevant Government Lease and will use the property only for the authorised purpose(s). A unit owner will usually also be required to prevent the tenant or occupiers from breaching the relevant terms. Therefore, even though it may be the tenant who is in breach of the Government Lease and the deed of mutual covenant, the landlord can still be liable to legal action by the management company or the other unit owners of the building.

Liability to a third party

If a residential property is used for business, then one can naturally expect that more visitors than originally anticipated will frequent the property. The chance of such visitors suffering from accidents related to the property and thus claiming against the landlord will also increase. A well-drafted tenancy document will contain a clause which specifies that the tenant indemnifies the landlord from and against all claims and liabilities caused by the tenant’s breach of any agreements. However, if the landlord does not have a well-drafted tenancy document, there may be a vacuum in the terms of liability to be borne by the landlord or tenant. In such circumstances, the landlord may be entangled in totally unanticipated litigation.

Criminal liability

If the tenant is merely using the property for purpose(s) other than that authorised, then the worst that the landlord will face is monetary loss and damages. However, if the landlord knows that the tenant is using the property for criminal activities, e.g. as a gambling place or a vice establishment, and does nothing about it, the landlord could face criminal charges. The consequences will not be limited to monetary loss and damages, but may include a criminal record and imprisonment. Hence, a landlord who finds a tenant using the property for criminal activities should at once report the case to the police.

As a tenancy document is likely to contain a clause that designates the use of the property, e.g. residential, retail, or industrial, the tenant’s breach of this clause will give rise to the landlord’s right of forfeiture. The landlord may also want to seek professional legal advice about the landlord’s rights and liabilities, which may vary under different circumstances. For instance, a tenant who uses a residential property as a home office may simply be using it as a business correspondence address with all business done on a computer, i.e. without visitors to the property and without storing goods at the property. There may not be any actual harm to the property or any actual negative effects to the landlord. In such circumstances, even though the tenant is technically in breach of the term of the tenancy document, the Court probably will have much sympathy towards the tenant.

3. I am a tenant of an apartment unit who have been disturbed by my neighbour (since he habitually sings karoake at a high volume at night). I complained to the manager of the building and was told that as I was not the owner of the property. He further stated that I did not have any right under the deed of mutual covenant. What can I do?

A deed of mutual covenant is a contract binding on all owners of a multi-unit or multi-storey building. It basically sets out rules for the management and regulation of the building. A detailed deed of mutual covenant can run to over a hundred pages.

It may be technically correct that a tenant, not being the owner of the apartment unit, does not have any right under the deed of mutual covenant. Yet it does not preclude the building manager (or the owners-incorporation of the building) from exercising its power conferred by the deed of mutual covenant.

A typical deed of mutual covenant will state that a unit owner shall not cause or permit nuisance (either created by the owner or his/her tenant) to other occupiers of the same building. Therefore, subject to what the deed of mutual covenant exactly says, the building manager can do whatever it is empowered to do under the deed of mutual covenant to stop the singing neighbour, including taking legal action.

The tenancy document made between the tenant and the landlord may also contain a clause under which the landlord covenants to procure that all parties bound by any deed of mutual covenant observe and perform the deed. That is to say, even if the tenant indeed has no right under the deed of mutual covenant, the landlord has a duty to assist the tenant in stopping the singing neighbour by exercising the landlord’s right under the deed.

Eventually, if the tenant finds himself/herself facing with a deed of mutual covenant which is silent on the issue of nuisance, the only option is probably to sue the singing neighbour under the law of tort (one of the grounds for claiming monetary compensation via civil litigation ). While it may not be easy to quantify the monetary damages caused by the singing, the tenant may try to obtain a court order for an injunction which prohibits the neighbour from singing at night. As the relevant legal procedures are complicated, it is strongly recommended to obtain lawyer’s assistance.