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Lease Extension

On 15th July 1997, Executive Council endorsed various provisions covering land leases and related matters under the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.

For general land grant policy on lease extension endorsed by ExCo please click Land Tenure System and Land Policy in Hong Kong.

The Government has a clear policy for dealing with land leases and related matters, including the extension of land leases. The policy is premised on the basic guiding principles of continuity in the arrangements, simplicity in procedures and certainty in the tenure of leases. It seeks to provide clarity, consistency and certainty in the land lease terms.

Under the policy, leases (excluding short term tenancies and special purpose leases) not containing a right of renewal ("non-renewable leases") may, upon expiry and at the sole discretion of the HKSAR Government, be extended for a term of 50 years without payment of an additional premium. The extended leases are subject to a payment of an annual rent at 3% rateable value of the property at the date of extension. The annual rent will be adjusted in step with any changes in rateable value thereafter.

The policy applies to all leases not containing a right of renewal (excluding short term tenancies and special purpose leases). No limit on the number of times that a land lease can be extended by the arrangements stipulated has been set out under the policy. For the avoidance of doubt, the policy applies to renewable leases which have already been renewed pursuant to the right of renewal contained in the lease with no further right of renewal upon expiry of the renewal term.

Renewable leases of which the right of renewal has not yet been exercised are outside the scope of the policy, and will be renewed for the renewal term stated in the leases at an annual rent equivalent to 3% of the rateable value of the land in accordance with the provisions of the Government Leases Ordinance (Cap. 40).

Since the establishment of the HKSAR, the Lands Department has been dealing with matters related to the extension of expiring land leases in accordance with the policy promulgated in 1997. For example, when the lease for Pokfulam Gardens expired in 2006, it was extended for 50 years up to 2056 at no additional premium and subject to payment of annual rent at 3% of rateable value, with the annual rent adjusted in step with any changes in rateable value thereafter.

The Government follows due process in exercising its "sole discretion" prudently. In general, land leases for general commercial/residential/industrial uses will be extended unless public interest requires otherwise. As a matter of fact, the Lands Department has extended most non-renewable leases for general commercial/residential/industrial uses since the policy was first promulgated in July 1997.

As a considerable number of land leases will expire from 2025 onwards, the Government will introduce a bill in 2023 such that expiring land leases will be extended regularly and in a consistent manner. This will save individual lot owners from dealing with the complicated procedures and bearing expensive costs in executing lease extension documents, and substantially reduce the time required for lease extension.

The Government has publicized the legislative proposal through a paper to the Legislative Council Panel on Development for its meeting on 23 May 2023. The bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council in the second half of 2023.

  • 2023 (Last Modified : 15.03.2024)
  • 2022 (Last Modified : 21.12.2022)
  • 2021 (Last Modified : 15.2.2022)
  • 2020 (Last Modified : 11.2.2021)
  • 2018 (Last Modified : 14.12.2018)
  • 2017 (Last Modified : 4.7.2018)
  • 2016 (Last Modified : 15.2.2017)
 
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