Q1. A tenancy on a subdivided unit was created orally or by conduct with rent paid periodically and no written tenancy had ever been signed. Are the tenancy regulations applicable?

Q1. A tenancy on a subdivided unit was created orally or by conduct with rent paid periodically and no written tenancy had ever been signed. Are the tenancy regulations applicable?

Yes. A tenancy whose term is defined by reference to the period for payment of rent, rather than by a fixed period expressly stated in the agreement, is a periodic tenancy, whether oral or in writing. Periodic tenancy extends indefinitely from period to period until it is terminated by a notice to quit given by one party to the other. The tenancy regulations on subdivided units are applicable to such tenancy.

If a period of the tenancy in question straddles the material date of Part IVA of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance (Cap. 7), i.e., 22 January 2022, the tenancy is taken to be the first term tenancy and the term of the tenancy is taken to be 2 years commencing on the date immediately after the expiry of the period that straddles 22 January 2022. In usual terms, that is the first rent payment day after the material date of the Ordinance.

If the periodic tenancy commences on or after 22 January 2022, it is taken to be the first term tenancy and the term of the tenancy is taken to be 2 years commencing on (i) the date of the creation of the tenancy, or (ii) a later date agreed by the parties for the commencement of the tenancy.