Owners
Question
18: If
the Government decides to resume the property interests in a redevelopment
area in accordance with the Lands Resumption Ordinance, what procedures
will it take? How will the residents be compensated?
Answer:
The
Housing Society acquires properties in redevelopment areas through
private negotiation. However, it may not be able to reach agreement
with all owners due to various reasons, such as title problems,
probate cases or untraceable owners, etc. In order to improve the
environment, the Government may consider repossessing the remaining
interests pursuant to the Lands Resumption Ordinance. It should
be noted that the interests of owners and tenants would be protected
by the law during the resumption process.
When the Government approves the resumption application of the Housing
Society, a Government Notice will be published in the Gazette. Copies
of the Government Notice will also be affixed in the redevelopment
area. The ownership of the properties will revert to the Government
three months after the notice is published. Upon the date of reversion,
all legal rights and interests of the owners no longer exist. Henceforth,
the former owner is not entitled to collect rents or fees of any
kind from his tenant or the occupant.
Eligible persons will be offered compensation or ex-gratia allowances.
Rehousing arrangements may be made for occupiers of domestic flats,
if applicable.
In order to assess the compensation and allowances as well as to
identify persons eligible to the above or rehousing, the Government
will appoint the Housing Society to send staff to properties to
be resumed to conduct surveys. The area occupied by each household
will be identified and relevant information can be obtained.
For details, please refer to the "Land Resumption and Compensation
in the Urban Area" booklet published by the Lands Department
or visit its web site: http://www.info.gov.hk/landsd/public/public.htm.
If both parties fail to reach agreement on the compensation, the
case can be referred to the Lands Tribunal for adjudication.
As to eligible domestic occupiers, whether they opt for cash compensation
or rehousing, they have to follow the necessary procedures before
receiving the compensation or rehousing unit.
Even after the publication of the Government Notice, the Housing
Society will continue to negotiate with owners before the reversion
of property interests to the Government, given that the transactions
can be completed before the date of reversion.
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