Lands Department issues 15 pre-sale consents in fourth quarter of 2024
The Lands Department (LandsD) announced today (January 7) that 15 pre-sale consents for residential developments involving 8 114 residential units were issued in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Details of the above residential developments (13 of which are phased developments) with pre-sale consents issued are as follows:
Expected year of completion |
Developments |
2024 |
Three phases of a development in Kowloon Tong (133 units)
2025 |
One phase each of two developments in Kai Tak (627 units)
2026 |
Two phases of a development in Tai Po (1 247 units)
Two phases of a development in Wong Chuk Hang (825 units)
2027 |
One phase each of two developments in Kai Tak (1 007 units)
One development in Fanling (765 units)
Two phases of a development in Tseung Kwan O (2 550 units)
One development in Sai Kung (960 units)
The LandsD also issued two consents to assign in the fourth quarter, involving a total of 1 725 residential units in two phased developments in Yuen Long and Tai Wo Ping respectively.
Taking into account the pre-sale consents issued in the first three quarters in 2024, the LandsD issued a total of 26 pre-sale consents for residential developments involving 11 834 residential units in 2024.
As at December 31, 2024, 19 applications for pre-sale consent for residential developments involving 8 527 residential units were being processed. Details are as follows:
Expected year of completion |
No. of applications |
No. of residential units involved |
2025 |
4 |
2 442 |
2026 |
6 |
2 481 |
2027 |
9 |
3 604 |
In addition, 10 applications for consent to assign involving 3 967 residential units and three non-residential units respectively as well as three applications for pre-sale consent for non-residential developments were being processed.
Members of the public can obtain up-to-date information on consents issued for the past quarter and cases pending approval by visiting the LandsD website (www.landsd.gov.hk).
Intending purchasers are advised to study carefully the details of the development and the sale procedures, through information available from public advertisements, sales brochures and price lists released by the developer, before making a deposit for purchase. The sales brochure for a development also contains a summary of the provisions of the Deed of Mutual Covenant, including information on the common parts, the number of undivided shares assigned to each unit, the term of years for which the manager is appointed, the basis on which the management expenses are shared among the owners of the units, as well as a summary of the provisions of the government land grant, which intending purchasers are recommended to read carefully.
WSD's registered consumer convicted of failing to provide relevant information or documents for suspected case of overcharging for water
The Water Supplies Department (WSD) announced that a registered consumer of a subdivided flat in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, was convicted today (January 8) of failing to comply with the Water Authority's request to provide relevant information or documents for a suspected case of overcharging for water, in contravention of regulation 47A of the Waterworks Regulations. The registered consumer pleaded guilty to the offence at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts. This case is the first conviction pursuant to the new regulation of 47A of the Waterworks Regulations, which has been effective since the enactment of the Waterworks (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 (the amended WWO) on April 19, 2024.
A spokesman for the WSD said that the amended WWO has strengthened the power of the Water Authority in evidence collection and information disclosure during the investigation of suspected cases of overcharging for water. The Water Authority can request landlords, their agents, consumers, etc, to provide the tenancy agreement, receipt or payment record for water charges. Failure to comply with such a request can be an offence and the offender is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $10,000 and a further fine of up to $1,000 for each day the offence continues. It is anticipated that there will be more prosecution cases. The maximum penalty for overcharging for water has been raised to $25,000 to deter this illegal act. Moreover, providing false or misleading information to the Water Authority is also an offence with a maximum penalty of a $25,000 fine and six months' imprisonment.
The WSD spokesman strongly appealed to landlords to apply for the installation of separate water meters for their subdivided units (SDUs), which can greatly reduce the risk of contravening the amended WWO. The water fee deposit and the charge for providing a meter for each separate meter installed under the Scheme for Installation of Separate Water Meters for Subdivided Units will be waived. Individual water bills will be provided for each water meter account. The first 12 cubic metres of water are free at four-month intervals. SDU tenants can contact the WSD to request separate water meters. Upon receiving such requests, the WSD will contact the landlords for the installation of separate meters. If the landlords refuse, the WSD may require them to provide information on the recovery of water charges from their tenants in suspected overcharging cases. Details of the scheme can be obtained from the WSD website
(www.wsd.gov.hk/en/customer-services/application-for-water-supply/pilot-scheme-for-installation-of-separate-water-me/index.html).
The WSD encourages the public to report any illegal act of overcharging SDU tenants for water for follow-up and investigation by the department. The public can call the WSD Hotline 3468 4963 or WhatsApp 5665 5517 to apply for the installation of separate water meters for SDUs. The WhatsApp hotline also handles matters relating to water overcharging in SDUs. Alternatively, the public can call the WSD Customer Enquiry Hotline 2824 5000 to report water overcharge cases. After calling the hotline and choosing a language, they can press "7" for reporting to staff directly.
