Chapter 13: Land Registration

Hong Kong operates a deeds registration system under the Land Registration Ordinance (Cap. 128). The Land Registry, comprising the Urban Land Registry and eight New Territories Land Registries, is responsible for registering documents affecting land and keeping land records for public inspection.

The Land Registration Ordinance provides that all land documents registered under Section 3 of the ordinance shall have priority according to their respective dates of registration. If a document is registered within one month of execution, priority shall relate to the date of execution of the document. Registration is essential to the protection of a land title, but does not guarantee it.

A land document is registered by delivering it to the appropriate land registry with a memorial, which contains the essential particulars of the document, and the prescribed fee. These particulars are then entered into a computerised land register for the relevant piece of land or property. The registered land document is scanned and stored as an electronic image on an optical disc.

Each land register provides a record of transactions affecting a property, starting from the grant of the relevant government lease. The registers, memorials and related land documents are available for search by members of the public at every search office on payment of a fee. Subscribers and customers may conduct a one-stop search for properties anywhere in the HKSAR at their own offices and at every search office in the registry through the introduction of the Direct Access Services and the Cross District Search Service, respectively.

As a future enhancement measure, the Administration introduced the Land Registration (Amendment) Bill into the Legislative Council in January. The amendments cover improvements to registration practices. The bill also provides for implementation of 'colour imaging of plans' and a Central Registration System. In September, the registry awarded a contract for the 'colour imaging of plans' to directly convert the existing and incoming plans into electronic colour images, to enhance efficiency and improve the quality of the colouring services.

The Land Registry has developed a 'strategic change plan' that involves the introduction of best practices and technologies. The plan envisages the amalgamation of the nine district registration offices into a central registration office to provide services without geographic restriction. Later, it envisages the introduction of a simpler and more secure system of title registration. A tender for the development of an Integrated Registration Information System (IRIS) was gazetted in January. The evaluation of tenders is under way and a contract is expected to be awarded in early 2002. The new integrated computer system would be developed in two phases. The first phase would correspond with the implementation of the Central Registration System. The main feature for the second phase would be the development of a land title registration system to facilitate electronic lodgement of land documents.