Change in Use of Land

Change in Use of Land: A Practical Guide to Development in Hong Kong is a guide for professionals in real estate development in Hong Kong. This third edition provides an account of the concepts of the use and change in use of land, followed by an outline of the procedures for lease modifications and waivers, planning applications, reviews and appeals, and building applications and appeals. It also includes an overview of government enforcement against contravention of lease conditions, provisions of statutory town plans prepared under the Town Planning Ordinance, and provisions of the Buildings Ordinance. For practitioners and policy analysts, the detailed appendices in the book offer vital statistical information on both aggregate and non-aggregate development applications.

In this new edition, the list of Town Planning Board guidelines has been updated to 2016, and the tables on success rates of planning applications and reviews for key zones have been updated to December 2015. Additional information on planning applications has been included. Two new appendices have also been added: one on the planning history of all 380 developmental projects under Comprehensive Development Area Zoning from 1990 to 2015 and another on the “Practice Notes for Authorized Persons, Registered Structural Engineers and Registered Geotechnical Engineers” (PNAPs).

Lawrence Wai-chung Lai is a professor in the Department of Real Estate and Construction, the University of Hong Kong. He has received the Commonwealth Scholarship, the Royal Australian Planning Institute (NSW Division) Prize, and the Outstanding Young Researcher Award at the University of Hong Kong. He was a member of the Board of Review (Inland Revenue Ordinance), Building Tribunal, Town Planning Appeal Board, and Transport Tribunal. A specialist in the economic analysis and practice of town planning and environmentalism, he is the author or co-author of more than ten books on the built environment. Daniel Chi-wing Ho was an associate professor and head (2006–2009) of the Department of Real Estate and Construction, the University of Hong Kong. He is currently a professor and associate dean in the Faculty of Design and Environment at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong and a governing councillor of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Asia. His research interests include the assessment of building quality, development control, and facilities management. Hing-fung Leung is an associate professor and head (2003–2005) of the Department of Real Estate and Construction, the University of Hong Kong. He is also a barrister of the High Court of Hong Kong and a member of the Town Planning Board.