Waiver Application
Government leases, under which all private land in Hong Kong is held, usually contain restrictions on the uses which the land or buildings may be put or the permissible structures that may be erected on the land. Under normal circumstances, leaseholder must comply with all the terms and conditions as stipulated under the lease. Where a leaseholder wishes to carry out activities or erect structures for a temporary period which do not comply with lease conditions, the leaseholder should apply for a waiver from the Lands Department to temporarily relax the restriction(s) under the lease.
In general, waivers may be granted
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for land (e.g. to permit relaxation of the user restriction or the erection of structures in respect of agricultural land)
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for buildings (e.g. to allow commercial activities in industrial buildings).
What is Temporary Waiver (TW) / Short Term Waiver (STW)?
Waivers are temporary permissions granted by Lands Department to relax restrictions under Government leases or land grants.
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Government leases, under which all private property in Hong Kong is held, usually contain restrictions as to the uses which the land or buildings may be put. Where a leaseholder wishes to carry out activities for a temporary period which do not comply with his lease conditions, he should apply for a waiver from the Lands Department to temporarily relax the restriction(s) under the lease. If the waiver application is approved, the Government, as landlord, will require the leaseholder to pay a fee reflecting the enhanced value of the property for the period of the waiver. Additional relevant conditions related to the new use of the property may also be imposed.
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Waivers are normally granted for a term of one year and thereafter quarterly until terminated by either Government or the leaseholder by giving three months' notice.
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Occasionally, waivers may be granted up to a maximum of three years with further extension subject to approval.
What is Short Term Tenancy (STTs)?
For sites on unleased and unallocated government land with possible potential for temporary uses, if there are no relevant competing demands from government bureaux/departments, they may be made available for short term tenancies (STTs).
STTs are granted by Lands by means of open tender or direct grant. In general, STTs are granted for a fixed term of a duration ranging from 1-5 years and thereafter on a periodic basis. If, upon expiry of the fixed term or the first 3 years (whichever is the later), the sites concerned are not immediately required for permanent or other temporary uses within 3 years, they will usually be re-tendered for another fixed term (for STTs granted by tender) or continue on a monthly or quarterly basis (for STTs by direct grant).
Warning letter from the Lands Department?
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If an industrial unit limited to industrial use is converted to commercial use, it is a violation of the leasehold use.
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If the Lands Department finds that the owners have violated the regulations during the on-site inspection, the Lands Department will issue a warning letter to the owners concerned, requesting the owners to correct the violation of the land lease use within 28 days.
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If the violation is rectified within 28 days, the government will not charge any fees to the owners, otherwise the government will "fix" the property and charge the owners a provisional permit fee.
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If the owner chooses to ignore or not to respond, the relevant premises may eventually be repossessed by the government.
What is Planning Application?
Outline Zoning Plan(OZP) is a kind of statutory plan prepared by the Town Planning Board under the Town Planning Ordinance. It is basically a plan that shows the land-use zonings and major road systems of individual planning scheme areas. Each plan is accompanied by a Schedule of Notes which show for a particular zone the uses always permitted (Column One Uses) and uses that would require permission from the Town Planning Board (Column Two Uses) upon application.
Successful Case
A unit on the ground floor of a building in San Po Kong, Kowloon
Area: around 2,000 (approx. sq. ft.)
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Town Planning Ordinance Section 16 Application
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Change From Industrial To Retail Use
