C. Registration Procedures

C. Registration Procedures

1. General
    
   1. Tenancy agreement, lease and agreement for tenancy should be registered at the Land Registry.
   
   
   2. If a tenancy agreement is granted at market rent and has a term of 3 years or less, the priority of such tenancy agreement would not be affected even if the tenancy agreement is not registered at the Land Registry.
   
   
   3. If a tenancy agreement contains an option to renew, even if the term of the tenancy agreement is 3 years or less, such tenancy agreement has to be registered to secure its priority.


2. Effect of non-registration
    
   1. Registration of a tenancy agreement gives the tenancy agreement priority over unregistered documents and other documents registered after the tenancy agreement.
   
   
   2. Registration of the tenancy agreement would put on notice or alert any person about the tenancy agreement when that person is dealing with the property of the tenancy agreement, so that priority will not be lost.
   
   
   3. Unregistered tenancy agreement would lose its priority to any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee acting in good faith and who has paid valuable consideration for his interest.
   
   
   4. If there is doubt as to whether a tenancy agreement should be registered at the Land Registry to protect its priority, the parties should seek legal advice to ascertain the necessity of registration.


3. Timing for registration
    
   1. If a tenancy agreement is registered within one month after the date of the signing of tenancy agreement, its priority would be deemed to be the date of the signing of the tenancy agreement.
   
   
   2. If a tenancy agreement is registered beyond one month after the date of its signing, its priority would be the date of the registration of the tenancy agreement.


4. Registration Fees
    
   1. The registration fee for any tenancy agreement or agreement for tenancy agreement is $210.
   
   
   2. The fees can be paid by cash/ EPS/ credit card.
   
   
   3. All the fees payable would not be refunded in all circumstances.


5. Procedures for private lodgement of a tenancy agreement
    
   1. Tenancy agreement can be lodged for registration at the Land Registry either by engaging a solicitor or by private lodgement in person.
   
   
   2. All documents submitted for registration must be in A4 size and printed or written in black ink on one side only of white paper or azure ledger paper.
   
   
   3. The tenancy agreement must be stamped before the verification of the memorial for the registration of the tenancy agreement.
   
   
   4. Each tenancy agreement lodged for registration must be accompanied by a completed “Memorial Form (LR152D)”, which contains the essential particulars of the document. The memorial form can be purchased from the Customer Centre of the Land Registry at 19^th Floor, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong. Each sheet of the memorial costs $5.
   
   
   5. The easiest and most practical way of obtaining the information required in the memorial form, including but not limited to the lot number, Property Reference Number (PRN) and the undivided shares of the property of the tenancy agreement, is to conduct a land search of the property.
   
   
   6. You can conduct a land search by following the steps below: 
       

      How to conduct a search of a sub-division register (SDR)?    Counter Search and Self-service Search You can conduct land search through the Counter Search and Self-service Search services at the Land Registry’s Customer Centre and the New Territories Search Offices (NTSOs) in Tai Po, Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long (Refer to the office details at paragraph 6). IRIS Online Services Visit the Integrated Registration Information System (IRIS) at https://www1.iris.gov.hk/eservices/ and select “Search Land Register”.  Fill in any of the four sections: (I) Street Name Section; (II) Development Name Section; (III) Lot Details Section and (IV) Property Reference Number (PRN) Section.  Select the land register that you would like to conduct a search on and fill in the information required accordingly. The fee for conducting a plain current search of the land register is $10.

   
   
   7. You may refer to the “Memorial Form Easy Guide” section in the Land Registry website http://www.landreg.gov.hk/en/form/152form.htm for guidance as to how to fill in the items in the memorial box.
   
   
   8. The memorial form has to be prepared by the landlord or tenant. After completing all the details in the memorial form, the party, preferably the landlord, would have to verify the memorial by oath taken before a Commissioner for Oaths.
   
   
   9. The Land Registry can arrange for administration of oath or affirmation for the verification of the memorial form on an appointment basis. Appointment can be made with the Deeds Lodgement Unit by phone (Telephone No: 3541 2200).
   
   
   10. You must complete the “Application for the Administration of the Oath/Affirmation by a Commissioner for Oaths at the Land Registry for Verification of a Memorial” which can be obtained at the Land Registry, before using the verification by oath service at the Land Registry. The fee for making the oath or affirmation to verify the memorial at the Land Registry is $170.
   
   
   11. The administration of oath by the Land Registry is only one of the pre-requisite steps to prepare the tenancy agreement for registration and NOT to be taken as the tenancy agreement being accepted for registration. The tenancy agreement would only be accepted for registration if it has fully complied with the provisions of the Land Registration Ordinance and its regulations.
   
   
   12. You must also complete a “Lodgement List”, which can be obtained at http://www.landreg.gov.hk/en/pdf/lodgement.pdf, showing the proper sequence of documents to be lodged. For a normal tenancy transaction, there is only one tenancy agreement to be lodged for registration. The lodgement list would only need to contain the details of the tenancy agreement.
   
   
   13. You must complete an “Application for Lodgement of Deeds for registration”.
   
   
   14. After completing all the documents and verifying the memorial, you should bring all the following to the Land Registry to complete the lodgement of the tenancy agreement for registration:
        
       1. Tenancy Agreement (duly stamped)
       2. Duly completed and verified memorial
       3. Duly completed “Application for Lodgement of Deeds for Registration”
       4. Duly completed “Application for the Administration of the Oath/ Affirmation by a Commissioner of Oaths at the Land Registry for Verification of a Memorial”
       5. Registration fee of HK$210 for the tenancy agreement
       6. Administrative fee of HK$170 for making oath/ affirmation
       7. Duly completed Lodgement List
   
   
   15. When you lodge document to the Land Registry, you should provide the Land Registry with your name, your correspondence address and your contact telephone number.
   
   
   16. The staff of Land Registry is not responsible for giving advice on the completion of the memorial or on the contents of the tenancy agreement. A person lodging a tenancy agreement for registration in person is expected to understand the registration requirements under the Land Registration Ordinance and its regulations.
   
   
   17. You are advised to read all the guidelines and conditions set out in the application forms and memorial form carefully. The Land Registry will only process your application to lodge the tenancy agreement for registration if you have properly completed and signed all the forms.


6. Contact details of the Customer Centre of the Land Registry and the New Territories Search Offices
   Customer Centre
   (for the purpose of deeds lodgement and search of land records) 

   Address: Queensway Government Offices, 19/F., 66 Queensway, Hong Kong
   Monday to Friday	Deeds lodgement: 9 am – 1:30 pm Search of land records: 9 am – 12:30 pm; 2 pm – 5 pm*
   Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays	Closed

   
   New Territories Search Offices
   (for the purpose of search of land records only) 
   1. Tai Po Search Office 

      Address: Tai Po Complex, 4/F., 8 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po.
      Monday to Friday	9 am – 12:30 pm; 2 pm – 5 pm*
      Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays	Closed

   
   
   2. Tsuen Wan Search Office 

      Address: Tsuen Wan Multi-storey Carpark Building, 11/F., 174-208 Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan.
      Monday to Friday	9 am – 12:30 pm; 2 pm – 5 pm*
      Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays	Closed

   
   
   3. Yuen Long Search Office 

      Address: Yuen Long Government Offices and Tai Kiu Market, 7/F., 2 Kiu Lok Square, Yuen Long.
      Monday to Friday	9 am – 12:30 pm; 2 pm – 5 pm*
      Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays	Closed

   
   *No lunch break for Self-Service Search. 
   
   # Note: The above addresses and opening hours are for reference only. Please verify the addresses and opening hours with the relevant department and website.