Applications for relaxing offensive trade use still pending for more than a year, leading to loss of interest and income
Developers and landlords say they have been stalled in seeking government approvals for converting their office or industrial properties for hospitality or food and beverage uses, even though the government dropped the extra land premium for the purpose eight months ago.
'Some of our clients applied for the relaxation of offensive trade uses of development sites in January last year,' said Chan Cheong-kit, director of Lanbase Surveyors. 'But the applications are still pending. We don't know what is happening.'
In November 2005, the government asked developers to pay an extra land premium for food and beverage outlets in retail developments in cases where the land leases of these properties are restricted to non-offensive trade use.
The cases involving lease modification for such uses have been pending for land premium processing since last year.
In the face of strong opposition from industry players, the government announced in July last year that it would cancel the extra premium charges.