Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Licence versus adverse possession

Legal area

Court

20 Aug 2021

LEUNG CHI CHEONG (the person appointed to represent the estate of LEUNG FAI, deceased) v. LIU CHE WUN AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2021] HKCFI 2435
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA1128/2007

The court found on the balance of probabilities that the 1st defendant and the Deceased jointly and adversely possessed the Land from 1980 to 2000 as joint squatters with equal rights and thereafter the 1st defendant continued adverse possession until 2009; the plaintiff failed to prove the existence of a licence; accordingly the 1st defendant acquired a good possessory title in her own right and holds the Land as tenant in common in equal shares with the Estate, entitling her to declarations, an account of half the income since early October 2009 and costs.
9 Mar 2018

CHAN KWONG SHING AND ANOTHER v. IP FOON

Citation

[2018] HKDC 248
Court

District Court
Case number

DCCJ3568/2015

The plaintiffs failed to discharge the high burden to prove adverse possession: their witnesses were disbelieved and there was no compelling contemporaneous evidence of occupation from 1997; further, even if their evidence were accepted, admissions of a 1999 assurance and a 2001 payment established permission/licence, defeating a claim of possession as of wrong; consequently the registered owner was entitled to recover possession and only nominal mesne profits were awarded.