Buildings, planning and building management

The three layers that control what can be built and how a property may be used: the Government lease, town planning, and building control. Then redevelopment arithmetic, and how a building is run under its DMC and the Building Management Ordinance. The EAQE adds the Town Planning Ordinance, building standards and redevelopment, which the SQE leaves out.

Part I · Stand-alone questions8 min read8 sections

Checked against the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131), sections 3, 16, 17, 17B, 20 and 21; Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123), sections 14, 16, 21, 24, 25 and 41(3); Building (Planning) Regulations (Cap. 123F), regulations 18A, 23 and 24 and First Schedule; Extension of Government Leases Ordinance (Cap. 648); Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344), sections 16 to 18, 34E and Seventh Schedule; Conveyancing and Property Ordinance (Cap. 219), section 41; New Territories Ordinance (Cap. 97), section 15; EAA, A Study Guide to Estate Agency Law and Practice, Part 5, paras 1 to 73; Government press releases of 4 Jul 2024 and 27 Dec 2024 (lease extension); checked 11 Oct 2026.

Must-know for the exam

Use is controlled at three levels: the Government lease user clause (Lands Department), the statutory plan (Town Planning Board) and building safety (Building Authority). Check all three.
Column 1 uses in an OZP zone are always permitted; Column 2 uses need planning permission under TPO s.16. Review by the Board (s.17), then appeal to the Appeal Board (s.17B).
DPA plans cover mainly rural areas not previously on an OZP, last three years and are replaced by OZPs; breaches there are 'unauthorised development' (TPO ss.20, 21).
Building works need approved plans and consent to commence from the Building Authority (BO s.14); occupation needs an occupation permit (s.21).
Material change of use: one month's notice to the Building Authority, which may prohibit the new use or order the present use stopped (BO s.25).
Plot ratio = total GFA ÷ site area. Class A sites (one street) get the lowest site coverage and plot ratio; class C (corner, three streets) the highest.
Habitable rooms and offices need at least 2.5 m floor-to-ceiling height (Building (Planning) Regulations, reg. 24).
Cap. 648 (from 5 Jul 2024): leases gazetted about six years before expiry get 50 more years, no premium, rent 3% of RV, unless on the Non-extension List.
Owners' corporation: meeting called by owners of 5% of shares; register with the Land Registrar within 28 days; Seventh Schedule DMC terms override the DMC (BMO s.34E).
A judgment against an owners' corporation can be enforced against individual owners with Lands Tribunal leave (BMO s.17), so a large judgment matters to buyers.

On this page · 8 sections

Traps that cost marks

Mixing up planning (Town Planning Board) and building control (Building Authority) documents.
Treating a Column 2 use as permitted.
Sending planning appeals to the Lands Tribunal.
Thinking a sale cures an unauthorised development.
Thinking planning and building control are unconnected.
Applying the 1997 New Territories extension to an urban lease.
Confusing the period to build with a period to sell.
Thinking the EAA approves pre-sales.

Why this matters in the exam

Part 5 of the EAQE syllabus is set at Level 1 (awareness), so Part I questions test definitions and procedures rather than deep analysis. But a buyer who wants to turn a flat into an office, an industrial unit into a showroom, or an old house into a tower block will meet all three layers of control, and Part II cases often turn on whether the agent spotted one of them.

The EAQE-only items are the ones candidates skip: the Town Planning Ordinance, site classes, plot ratio and redevelopment potential. Expect at least one hand calculation.

The Government lease

All private land is held from the Government under a lease or conditions of grant, sale, exchange or regrant. New grants usually run 50 years at a Government rent of 3% of rateable value (Study Guide Part 5, para 7).

•General conditions: payment of premium, Government rent, and the Government's right of re-entry for breach, without compensation for buildings.
•Special conditions: a building covenant (usually develop within 48 months), the user clause, development limits (GFA, site coverage, height), open space, trees, car parking, DMC approval by the Director of Lands, and a ban on selling before compliance unless the Director consents (the Consent Scheme for pre-sales).
•Old leases may ban 'offensive trades', including victualler; lifting the ban needs Government approval and usually a fee.
•Breach of user makes title defeasible (liable to re-entry). In World Investment Ltd v Young King Asia Ltd [1996], using a garage as a shop was an incumbrance on title.

Expiry. Under the Extension of Government Leases Ordinance (Cap. 648), in force 5 Jul 2024, the Director of Lands gazettes an extension notice about six years before expiry. Leases covered are extended by 50 years without premium, at an annual rent of 3% of RV, unless placed on the Non-extension List. New Territories leases were earlier extended to 30 Jun 2047 under Cap. 150. Always recommend legal advice on a specific lot.

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