Leasing and tenancy

How tenancies are created and classified, the stamp duty and Form CR109 rules, the parties' rights and obligations, how a tenancy ends, and the special regimes for subdivided units under Part IVA of Cap. 7 and the Basic Housing Units Ordinance. The EAQE tests leasing at Level 4, so expect applied questions and Part II leasing cases, not just definitions.

Part I · Stand-alone questions9 min read9 sections

Checked against the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance (Cap. 7), Parts III, IV, IVA and V, including sections 117 and 120AAZE to 120AAZT; Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) (Amendment) Ordinance 2004; Basic Housing Units Ordinance (Cap. 658); Stamp Duty Ordinance (Cap. 117), First Schedule Head 1(2), and IRD IRSD123 (5/2026); Land Registration Ordinance (Cap. 128), section 3(2); RVD, A Summary Guide on the LTCO and tenancy FAQ (Forms CR109, AR1, AR2), rvd.gov.hk; Practice Regulation (Cap. 511C), sections 2, 6 and 13 and Forms 2, 5 and 6; EAA Practice Circulars Nos. 15-04, 22-01 and 26-01 (CR); EAA, A Study Guide to Estate Agency Law and Practice, Part 7, paras 1 to 42; checked 11 Oct 2026.

Must-know for the exam

Exclusive possession for a term at a rent makes a tenancy, whatever the document is called; a licence gives only a personal right to occupy.
A bona fide tenancy of 3 years or less at a market rent binds a buyer without registration (Cap. 128, s.3(2)); an option to renew or buy binds him only if registered.
Domestic security of tenure ended on 9 Jul 2004: a fixed term ends on expiry and renewal is by agreement, except Part IVA subdivided-unit tenancies.
Lease stamp duty (IRSD123, 5/2026): up to 1 year, 0.25% of total rent; over 1 to 3 years, 0.5% of yearly rent; over 3 years, 1%. Deposits are ignored.
Key money with rent also payable: 4.25% of the key money. Tenancy agreements are stamped within 30 days of signing.
Form CR109 goes to the RVD within 1 month of a new domestic letting or renewal; without an endorsed form the landlord cannot sue for rent (Cap. 7, Part IV).
Implied Part IV forfeiture grounds (s.117(3)): rent unpaid 15 days after due, illegal or immoral use, unnecessary annoyance (including persistent late rent), structural alteration without consent.
Part IVA (from 22 Jan 2022): 2 + 2 years' tenure, deposit at most 2 months' rent, second-term rise capped at the lower of the RVD index change and 10%.
Part IVA landlord pays the stamp duty and files Form AR2 within 60 days; the landlord's agent arranges both unless the landlord opts out in writing (Circular 22-01 (CR)).
Basic Housing Units Ordinance (Cap. 658) in force 1 Mar 2026; letting an unrecognised SDU in a covered flat is an offence from 1 Mar 2027.

On this page · 9 sections

Traps that cost marks

Trusting the label on the document.
Thinking a sale ends a tenancy, or that an option is protected like the tenancy.
Assuming the short-tenancy exception also protects an unregistered option.
Thinking holding over renews the fixed term.
Forgetting to check the landlord's mortgage for a no-letting clause.
Assuming pre-2004 security of tenure still applies.
Including the deposit or using the wrong band for the term.
Annualising the rent for a lease of under a year.

Why this matters in the exam

Leasing is one of the EAQE's Level 4 topics, the same depth as the Estate Agents Ordinance. Questions give you a letting and ask what kind of tenancy it is, whether a buyer is bound by it, what the duty is, whether the landlord can forfeit, or what an agent handling a subdivided unit must explain. A good first move is always to classify the letting: tenancy or licence, domestic or commercial, fixed or periodic, subdivided unit or not, mortgaged or not.

For agency work, residential lettings of self-contained units use Form 5 (landlord), Form 6 (tenant) and Form 2 (Leasing Information Form), and the landlord's agent searches the land register immediately before the tenancy is signed and gives the tenant a copy (Cap. 511C, s.13(4)). A room that shares a kitchen or bathroom is not self-contained and needs no prescribed agency form.

Creating and classifying tenancies

•Tenancy or licence. A tenant has exclusive possession and an interest in land; a licensee has a personal permission that the owner can revoke. Labels do not decide it.
•Lease or tenancy. Terms over 3 years are usually made by deed and must be registered to bind a buyer. A tenancy of 3 years or less, signed by hand, at market rent with no premium, binds a buyer without registration. An option to renew or purchase is an interest in land and binds a buyer only if the document containing it is registered (Study Guide Part 7, para 3).
•Periodic tenancy. Runs from period to period (most often monthly) until a notice to quit of one period.
•Tenancy at will or at sufferance. A tenant holding over after the term. If the landlord accepts rent, it becomes a periodic tenancy following the rent period.
•Tenancy by estoppel. A mortgagor who lets without the bank's required consent creates a tenancy good only between landlord and tenant. When the bank asserts its title paramount, the tenant becomes a trespasser liable for mesne profits (Typhoon 8 Research Ltd v Seapower Resources International Ltd [2001]).

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Estate Agents Qualifying Examination