https://www.scmp.com/rss/270551/feed Alnwick Chan is managing director of professional services at Knight Frank en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Housing crisis has long been a pressing issue for Hong Kong, one of the most expensive property markets in the world. Amid a lack of affordable housing, the waiting time for public rental housing is 5.8 years on average. Many low-income households therefore have no choice but to live in subdivided units (SDUs), with poor living conditions at high rents. As a result, the government introduced the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) (Amendment) Bill 2021 to protect the interests of SDU tenants and... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3146109/tenancy-control-subdivided-flats-step-forward-not-long-term-solution-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3146109/tenancy-control-subdivided-flats-step-forward-not-long-term-solution-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Aug 2021 04:01:13 +0000 There are about 50 residential and commercial land lots whose leases will expire in 2025, and the leases for another 320 lots will expire by 2030. According to the government in a recent response to a question from the Legislative Council, the leases expiring by 2025 will involve about 300 interest holders and those by 2030 will involve up to 8,500 interest holders. As there have been no such lease expiries between 2016 and 2024, those expiring in 2025 could serve as a reference case for... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3135498/what-will-happen-hong-kong-land-lot-leases-expiring-decade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3135498/what-will-happen-hong-kong-land-lot-leases-expiring-decade?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jun 2021 04:00:13 +0000 Surveyors are called in from time to time by different stakeholders to consult on land tenure in Hong Kong. The questions put to them stem largely from the fact that land parcels located to the north of Boundary Street will expire on June 30, 2047, while some leases on Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong Island will expire before that date without a right of renewal. During the election campaign leading up to the 2016 Legislative Council election, some candidates ran with the doomsday argument that... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3021424/hong-kong-needs-speed-land-lease-renewal-process-help-foster-calm-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3021424/hong-kong-needs-speed-land-lease-renewal-process-help-foster-calm-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Aug 2019 04:00:05 +0000 The recent enactment of the Private Columbaria Ordinance will bring wholesale changes to a traditional business which has not been properly regulated in the past hundred years. Under the new law, which came into effect on June 30 to enhance consumer protection, all private columbarium operators have to obtain a licence or a waiver from the government to sell or let out new niches. Columbaria are structures divided into niches for people to store urns containing the ashes of their deceased loved... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2106882/new-licensing-law-poses-challenge-hong-kongs-columbarium?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2106882/new-licensing-law-poses-challenge-hong-kongs-columbarium?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Aug 2017 08:27:43 +0000 When it comes to land premium, it is sometimes not just about valuation but also negotiation with the government. One of the structures that often requires negotiations or causes landlords to hesitate before building is a footbridge connection. Footbridges that link buildings are open to the public. Since the 1990s, one of the bases for assessing the land premium needed for such features is the enhanced value to the parent lot. However, it is difficult for the enhancement in value to be... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1558953/land-premium-uncertainty-discourages-building-footbridges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1558953/land-premium-uncertainty-discourages-building-footbridges?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Jul 2014 06:30:30 +0000 The government has announced that it will release some sites for the development of residential projects for restricted sale to Hong Kong residents only, with details of terms and conditions yet to be announced. It is easy to criticise the new policy and say it will have little impact on cooling prices or increasing the supply of much-needed apartments. But critics ought to be aware that getting a development off the ground and finishing it is a lot more complex than one may think. Government... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1034281/lands-department-controls-property-market-not-developers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1034281/lands-department-controls-property-market-not-developers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000