Security of cadastral rights in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong cadastral system is designed for efficient transactions which has remained unchanged since the enactment of the Land Registration Ordinance in 1844. In this British designed cadastral system, various land-right records are kept by different government departments. The current computerized register gives good protection of ownership rights to practically all land properties. Land use rights have been taken up by the Town Planning Ordinance and the individual detailed land rights criteria are contained in land leases or land grant documents. Land boundary rights, property management arrangement and other land rights are to be traced from the deeds. The design usage and the first alienation of land is managed by government whereas the subsequent development and the subdivision of property units in the mode of undivided shares of land are largely private deals. There are much rooms for improvement in the security of property rights. This paper introduces the cadastral arrangement in Hong Kong, points out the main successful achievement and the subsequent insufficiencies in the protection of other land rights, and discusses the conditions of institutional changes for the adoption of such improvements.