A Hongkonger's home is his corporate entity

Visitors to Hong Kong are struck by how densely packed together we are. A single residential estate, occupying a relatively small area of ground, provides homes for thousands of families. Each estate is, effectively, a district, often with its own leisure facilities, gardens and links to the transport network.

The property lawyer who visits Hong Kong would also be impressed by the elegance of the legal arrangements for the governance of these estates.

It can be surprising to learn that the buyer of one of these flats does not exactly own the flat. Rather, he buys a share of the government lease for the whole estate.

In addition, he buys a legally binding promise from the co-owners (the owners of the other flats on the estate) that they will not exercise their right to enter his flat. In other words, I won't come into your flat and you won't come into mine.

When it comes to governance and management, there is a need to create a system that allows agreement to be reached on matters of common concern, such as repairs to external walls, roofs or the drainage system. The system also has to ensure everyone pays their share of the common expenses, and impose obligations and restrictions that all owners agree to observe for the sake of the common good. These include keeping one's own property in some minimum standard of repair and restrictions on alterations.

A management body, akin to a board of directors, takes executive decisions concerning the running of the estate, and a system has to be put in place to inform the owners of the decisions and allow them to hold the executive to account.