Forced Building Sale Threshold
January 23, 2008
The government is proposing to lower the threshold for forcing sale of buildings. They propose to lower the threshold specified in the Lands Ordinance from 90 per cent to 80 percent. However, the legislators seem to opoose such idea. What would be the consequence of passing such a change?
It might speed up the acquisition of old buildings as forced sale can be enforced once 80 per cent of the owner are in agreement. Some have even argued that this might speed up the elimination of the characteristics of old districts. This might not be right. Very old buildings will certainly require some form of renovation or redevelopment works but district character preservation is another policy matter.
On the other hand, the protection of the private property right might be significantly enhanced and development timeframe will be shorterned.
The main issue is where to strike a balance between private property right and allowing development to proceed at a more acceptable pace. The government has not yet explain why they think 80 per cent should be the threshold.
