Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Tenement definition

Legal area

Court

10 Dec 2019

SOGO HONG KONG CO LTD v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATION

Citation

[2019] HKLdT 68
Court

Lands Tribunal
Case number

LDGA17/2017

The Tribunal held that Sign 5 and Sign K each constitute separate tenements under section 9 of the Rating Ordinance because the spaces were used solely for exhibiting advertisements and the rights to use them were granted to persons other than the owner (second limb of s9(1)); accordingly both signs are liable for rates and Sign 5 is liable for Government rent; the assessment did not constitute unlawful double charging and the appellant failed to discharge its burden to prove rateability was wrong.
10 Dec 2019

SOGO HONG KONG CO LTD v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATION

Citation

[2019] HKLdT 68
Court

Lands Tribunal
Case number

LDGA18/2017

Section 9(1) (second limb) applies: the external wall spaces were not occupied for any other purpose and the rights to use them for advertising were granted to persons other than the owner; the structures objectively constitute advertisements (size, location, purpose and contractual grants); therefore Sign 5 and Sign K are separately deemed tenements under section 9 and liable to rates, and Sign 5, having an assigned rateable value, is liable to Government rent under the Rent Ordinance.
2 Feb 2016

CLP POWER HONG KONG LTD v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATION

Citation

CLP POWER HONG KONG LTD v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATION
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV202/2015

Section 8A is primarily a deeming provision aimed at making plant occupying land that would otherwise not be a tenement rateable (addressing the mischief from Yiu Lian) and does not have the effect of automatically rendering non-rateable machinery under s8(b) rateable where those items already form part of an existing tenement; accordingly the Lands Tribunal's application of s8A to the disputed items was set aside and the question whether the items fall within the s8(b) exemption must be remitted to the Tribunal for factual determination.
9 Jan 1990

KWONG FAT LOONG SHIPYARD v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATION

Citation

KWONG FAT LOONG SHIPYARD v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATION
Court

Lands Tribunal
Case number

LDRA5/1988

The Tribunal held that the comparative method is preferred and applicable to the land above sea level, seabed and buildings (three of four elements) because adequate comparables existed; the actual negotiated rent was based on Government standard rates and was below open market rent and thus not adopted for the whole tenement; the contractor's method was appropriate for the slipway where no comparables existed; after considering obsolescence and market yields the proper decapitalisation rate for the slipway was 10.5%, producing a composite rateable value of $136,900 effective 1 April 1988.
10 Mar 1982

YIU LIAN MACHINERY REPAIRING WORKS LTD AND OTHERS v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATIONN

Citation

YIU LIAN MACHINERY REPAIRING WORKS LTD AND OTHERS v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATIONN
Court

Lands Tribunal
Case number

LDRA7/1980

Hong Kong's statutory definition of tenement and rating regime differs materially from English hereditament/unit of occupation law; although English doctrine of chattels enjoyed with land applies in principle in Hong Kong, the floating dry docks were not sufficiently connected (no high degree of mutual adaptation) to the land/berths to be chattels enjoyed with the land, they are not 'structures' under s.2, and they are not 'machinery' excluded under s.8(b); therefore the docks are not rateable and the appeals succeed.

Hong Kong Case Law

SOGO HONG KONG CO LTD v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATION

SOGO HONG KONG CO LTD v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATION

CLP POWER HONG KONG LTD v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATION

KWONG FAT LOONG SHIPYARD v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATION

YIU LIAN MACHINERY REPAIRING WORKS LTD AND OTHERS v. COMMISSIONER OF RATING AND VALUATIONN