The Government is expected to recover about $600 million in rent owed by property developers after the Court of Final Appeal ruled on Tuesday that they had to pay for vacant land based on last year's rateable value.
Over the past two years, rent charged for vacant government land was frozen while the lawsuit by nine developers against the Government proceeded, Lo Hing-chung, Assistant Commissioner of Rating and Valuation, said yesterday.
The developers challenged a law that enabled the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation to demand rent for 59 development sites.
The developers were charged three per cent of the rateable value of the properties. Before the increase, they had not been charged rent nor paid a nominal amount.
Mr Lo said that after the annual review of rateable value, about 75 per cent of property owners would pay seven per cent less in rates.
Private housing estates whose rates dropped include Chi Fu Fa Yuen on southern Hong Kong Island, where rates will decrease by 10 per cent because transport is not convenient. Rates in Mei Foo Sun Chuen and estates in Tseung Kwan O will also fall because of the lack of facilities and large supply of properties.