Land records are maintained by the Land Registry primarily for the purpose of facilitating property transactions.
In every land transaction, it is important to ascertain who is the registered owner of the property in question and what incumbrances, if any, are registered against it.
The Land Registry provides a “Land Search” service to the public. Any person can conduct a search at the Land Registry to ascertain the ownership particulars of any property in Hong Kong. A potential tenant should always conduct a land search before entering into a tenancy document. If the potential tenant is renting the property through an estate agent or has retained a solicitor firm, then the agent and the firm are duty bound to conduct such a search to protect the tenant's interests.
