Introduction - HKU Libraries - The University of Hong Kong

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(c) technical officers will correlate plans to determineif the structure is on Government or private land;(d) Land Registry (LR) will be requested to providerelevant details such as registered site area, class,Crown rent payable, type and number of the Lot and thename and address of the registered owner etc.;(e) first warning letter with a deadline (normally twoweeks) will be issued for compliance;(f)(g)the site will be re-inspected after expiry of thedeadline;if the UBW is not rectified, final warning letter witha revised deadline (normally three weeks) will beissued for compliance;(h) the site will be re-inspected after expiry of therevised deadline to check compliance;(i)(j)if the UBW has been removed, the case will be bring up(BU) in three months for re-inspection, otherwiseCrown Land Notice under Section 12(1) of Crown LandOrdinance will be issued on site for compliance within14 days (compliance period may be less than 14 days ifurgent action is required); andthe site will be re-inspected and if the Notice is notcomplied with, the Government Contractors (GO will becalled in to demolish the UBW.There may be slight variations between different DLOs onrelatively minor issues such as the BU period after the issue ofthe warning letters and the format of the advisory/warningletters.3.8 This Office notes that the GCs are seldom employed.In the case of the Sha Tin District, compliance generally comeswith the issue of the Crown Land Notice if not earlier, and theGC had not been called for during the last two years. In YuenLong District, the GC had not been called simply due to lack offunds. The last resort of re-entry is also seldom employed.According to Lands D's records, there had only been two cases ofre-entry in the past three Years, both at the Tai Po District.Recently, a case was reported to be in progress in Yuen LongDistrict.3-9 The IOs had also reviewed the two re-entry cases in TaiPo. Although, both cases were not related to NTEHs, thecomplexity, extensive involvement and amount of paper workassociated with such an exercise were exemplary. Partiesinvolved included the Attorney General's Chambers (AGO, theBuildings Department (BD), the LR (then Registrar General), the- 13 -
owner's solicitors and of course, the DLO/Tai Po and other LandsD staff. An enormous amount of correspondence were exchanged andthe case in point took three years to complete. The opposingowner finally rectified the breaches to DLO/Tai Po's satisfactionand paid a penalty before the Consent Order was issued to cancelthe re-entry. This illustrates how re-entry actions, althougheffective, can be time-consuming and resource intensive.TOLERATION OF BREACHES OF LEASE CONDITIONS3.10 ^ In respect of minor breach(es) of developmentconditions contained in small house grants,, or example, minorinfractions of the built-over area or height, slightly excessivewidth of overhang etc., Lands D can exercise its power under thelease conditions and impose penalty fines. The DLOCs areauthorised to make decisions to tolerate such UBW and impose suchpenalties. The membership and terms of reference of the DLOC isreproduced at Annex II. The DLOC will first consider whether thebreach (es) in question can be tolerated or whether leaseenforcement action would be more appropriate. Should the DLOCdecide to tolerate the breach(es) , a penalty will be imposed onthe owner. The level of the penalty is dependent on the extentof the breach(es). For breaches of a minor nature, for example,minor infractions of the built-over area or height of thebuilding or a slightly excessive stairhood or balcony, a standardpenalty fine for each type of breach which ranges from $4 600 to$45 500 depending on the extent of the breach (es) , is payableonce for the lifetime of the building. For more extensivebreaches where a direct assessment is possible, such as excessiveroofed-over area, the level of penalty is assessed on the basisof buying back the excess accommodation. Where no directassessment is possible, the level of penalty is at the discretionof the DLOC. Such penalty is not intended to be a premium fora modification of the Conditions of Grant of the lot but a feein respect of the Government's forbearance to take action for thelifetime of that particular building.3.11 As a rule, criteria and guidelines for toleration arenot published although the public and villagers may already haverough ideas of them through enquiries with the Rural Committee(RC) concerned or through contacts with parties previouslyaffected by enforcement actions. The reasons for not publishingthese criteria and guidelines are obvious. Apart from thepossibility of misleading the public that such irregularities orbreaches will "automatically be legalised" upon payment of thefine as a matter of right, there is the added danger of thepublic being encouraged to commit such breaches.ENFORCEMENT APPROACH3.12 The Lands D does not have comprehensive details to*- 14 -
Page 2 and 3: THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONGLIBRARIE
Page 4 and 5: C3. ESC. HO.C,
Page 6 and 7: 1Introduction1.1 In April 1995, the
Page 8 and 9: investigation report. The first six
Page 10 and 11: Ordinance (Application to the New T
Page 12 and 13: who needed housing, to build houses
Page 14 and 15: Ordinance, order for demolition or
Page 16 and 17: 3.2 Lease enforcement actions again
Page 20 and 21: indicate the size of the UBW proble
Page 22 and 23: BUILDINGS DEPARTMENT'S EXPERIENCE3.
Page 24 and 25: great deal of resources to deal wit
Page 26 and 27: out the resources available for lea
Page 28 and 29: 5OverallObservationsand Findings5.1
Page 30 and 31: the same way as traffic enforcement
Page 32 and 33: 6Conclusions andRecommendations6.1
Page 34 and 35: measures. The relevant consultative
Page 36 and 37: (i) Para. 6.2(9) : The recommendati
Page 38 and 39: (h)Para. 5.2 : It is not certain th
Page 40 and 41: (g)(h)that more resources could be
Page 42 and 43: (ii) with a roofed-over area not ex
Page 44 and 45: Annex IIIRe-entry/Vesting Procedure
Page 46 and 47: - 2 -outside the scope of the NTSH
Page 48 and 49: - 4 -need Government approval for r
Page 50 and 51: DLOs.- 6 -Those relating to assessm
Page 52: - 8 -• lease enforcement against

Introduction - HKU Libraries - The University of Hong Kong

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