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HIGHLIGHT
The business volume for both land registration services and search of land records services in 2008/09 fell compared with 2007/08. We met all performance pledges and targets during the year.
In pursuit of excellence in services, we take every opportunity to benchmark our services with best management practices. In conjunction with the Efficiency Unit, we conducted a self-assessment under the Customer Management Assessment Framework (CMA 101). Our services excelled in ten out of 16 assessment areas. In parallel, a comprehensive customer service survey was also conducted in 2008/09 which showed that 90.6 % of our customers are satisfied with our services
To sustain improvement in customer satisfaction, we will continue to enhance our services. A new performance pledge has been implemented for 2009/10. An enhanced version of the e-Memorial Form will be introduced. The Interactive Voice Response System will be revamped to provide a more user-friendly hotline service. A small scale customer service survey will be conducted to tap our customers’ feedback on our services, in particular, the improvements implemented during the year. “Meet the clients” session for our reports-on-title service would be arranged. |
Services and Workload
The major services provided by the Land Registry are:
- registration of land documents;
- search of land registers;
- supply of copies of land records;
- certification of copies of land records; and
- owners’ corporation services.
(i) Registration of Land Documents
In the financial year of 1 April 2008 - 31 March 2009, a total of 593,328 land documents were lodged for registration, representing a decrease of 25.7% when compared with the previous year. On average, 2,422 documents were lodged for registration each working day. Number of Land Documents Lodged for Registration from 2006/07 to 2008/09Year
|
Total number of documents lodged |
Increase (decrease) compared with previous year |
Average number of documents lodged per working day |
2006/07
|
591,968
|
(10.9%)
|
2,180 |
| 2007/08 |
799,033 |
35.0% |
3,196 |
| 2008/09 |
593,328 |
(25.7%) |
2,422 |
Number of Land Documents Lodged for Registration per Month in 2008/09
Apr
|
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
|
71,075
|
64,449
| 66,515 |
65,122 |
50,540 |
49,460 |
|
Oct
|
Nov |
Dec |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Yearly Total |
| 46,737 |
36,785 |
35,854 |
33,251 |
31,996 |
41,544 |
593,328 |
Distribution of Land Documents Lodged for Registration in 2008/09
Nature
|
Number |
Agreements for Sale and Purchase of Building Units
|
89,801 | | Agreements for Sale and Purchase of Land |
1,709 |
| Assignments of Building Units |
130,868 |
| Assignments of Land |
5,965 |
| Building Mortgages/Building Legal Charges |
103 |
Other Mortgages/Legal Charges
|
114,910 |
| Others |
249,972 |
| Total |
593,328 |
Over 15% of the documents lodged for registration in 2008/09 were sale and purchase agreements of building units. The number of these agreements is generally regarded as a key indicator of the level of activity in the property market.
Number and Consideration of Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) of Building Units Lodged for Registration from 2006/07 to 2008/09
Year
|
Total number of SPAs lodged |
Increase (decrease) compared with
previous year |
Average number of SPAs lodged per working day |
Total consideration of SPAs
(in HK$ million) |
2006/07
|
105,076
| (8.8%)
|
387
|
344,756 |
| 2007/08 |
160,587 |
52.8% |
642 |
603,559 |
| 2008/09 |
89,801 |
(44.1%) |
367 |
312,499 |
Number and Consideration of Sale and Purchase Agreements of Building Units Lodged for Registration per Month in 2008/09
| |
Apr
|
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
|
| Number |
10,945
|
10,138
| 11,876 |
8,930 |
6,402 |
7,369 |
|
Consideration
(in HK$ million) |
33,509
|
33,972
| 57,479 |
32,697 |
18,030 |
23,559 |
|
| |
Oct
|
Nov |
Dec |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Yearly Total |
| Number |
6,054 |
3,786 |
5,437 |
5,759 |
5,043 |
8,062 |
89,801 |
Consideration
(in HK$ million) |
18,937 |
10,648 |
20,516 |
18,684 |
15,874 |
28,594 |
312,499 |
Number and Consideration of Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) of Residential Units Lodged for Registration from 2006/07 to 2008/09
Year
|
Total number of SPAs of residential units lodged |
Increase (decrease) compared with
previous year |
Average number of SPAs of residential units lodged per working day |
Total consideration of SPAs of residential units (in HK$ million) |
2006/07
|
88,076
| (8.5%)
|
324
|
255,473 |
| 2007/08 |
137,164 |
55.7% |
549 |
503,093 |
| 2008/09 |
75,478 |
(45.0%) |
308 |
261,287 |
Number and Consideration of Sale and Purchase Agreements of Residential Units Lodged for Registration per Month in 2008/09
| |
Apr
|
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
|
| Number |
9,047
|
8,281
| 10,205 |
7,433 |
5,284 |
6,075 |
|
Consideration
(in HK$ million) |
27,564
|
26,304
| 50,431 |
25,139 |
14,974 |
18,733 |
|
| |
Oct
|
Nov |
Dec |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Yearly Total |
| Number |
4,719 |
3,264 |
4,706 |
4,875 |
4,487 |
7,102 |
75,478 |
Consideration
(in HK$ million) |
16,279 |
9,007 |
17,662 |
16,124 |
13,622 |
25,448 |
261,287 |
(ii) Search of Land Registers
4,628,256 searches of land registers were made in 2008/09, a 14.2% decrease compared with the previous year. On average, 17,528 searches were handled each working day. More than 88% of the searches were conducted through the IRIS Online Services.
Number of Searches of Land Registers from 2006/07 to 2008/09
Year
|
Total number of searches |
Increase (decrease) compared with previous year |
Average number of searches per working day |
2006/07
|
4,392,580
|
(2.5%)
|
16,179 |
| 2007/08 |
5,396,269 |
22.8% |
20,033 |
| 2008/09 |
4,628,256 |
(14.2%) |
17,528 |
Distribution of Searches of Land Registers from 2006/07 to 2008/09
| |
Online searches |
Counter searches |
Year
|
Number |
Per cent |
Number |
Per cent |
2006/07
|
3,811,922
|
86.8
|
580,658
|
13.2 |
| 2007/08 |
4,808,175 |
89.1 |
588,094 |
10.9 |
| 2008/09 |
4,091,126 |
88.4 |
537,130 |
11.6 |
(iii) Supply of Copies of Land Records
In 2008/09, the Land Registry provided 648,206 sets of imaged copies and photocopies of land records to customers, a 8% decrease compared with the previous year.
Number of Sets of Imaged Copies and Photocopies of Land Records Supplied from 2006/07 to 2008/09
Year
|
Total number of sets of imaged copies and photocopies supplied |
Increase (decrease) compared with previous year |
Average number of sets of imaged copies and photocopies supplied per working day |
2006/07
|
648,326
|
(3.3%)
|
2,388 |
| 2007/08 |
704,873 |
8.7% |
2,693 |
| 2008/09 |
648,206 |
(8.0%) |
2,646 |
(iv) Certification of Copies of Land Records
In 2008/09, the Land Registry certified 124,576 copies of land records, a 26.7% decrease compared with the previous year.
Number of Copies of Land Records Certified from 2006/07 to 2008/09
Year
|
Total number of copies of land records certified |
Increase (decrease) compared with previous year |
Average number of land records certified per working day |
2006/07
|
136,434
|
(1.6%)
|
503 |
| 2007/08 |
169,972 |
24.6% |
680 |
| 2008/09 |
124,576 |
(26.7%) |
508 |
(v) IRIS Online Services
Since February 2005, we have been providing search services over the internet (IRIS Online Services) for 16 hours a day, seven days a week.
By the end of March 2009, the number of subscribers to the IRIS Online Services reached 740. Searches conducted online constituted about 90% of the total search volume. Searches by ad hoc users by means of credit cards and Payment-by-phone Service (PPS) constituted about 20% of all online searches. (vi) Staff Productivity
For registration service, the output per man-day increased from an average of 36 for 2007/08 to 44 for 2008/09. For the counter search, the outputs per man-day for search of land registers remained steady at 94 and for imaged copies have increased from 83 to 87.  (vii) New Territories Search Offices
In February 2005, the Land Registry launched the new IRIS Online Services. After two years of operation with the new services, we carried out reviews of the use of all the New Territories Search Offices in 2007/08. After review, North and Sai Kung Search Offices were closed on 16 April 2007 and Tuen Mun Search Office on 5 May 2008.
At the beginning of 2009 we carried out another review of the use of the remaining Search Offices in the New Territories. Demand for services at the Sha Tin Search Office had remained at a low level, and in light of this, we decided to close the Sha Tin Search Office with effect from 4 May 2009.
Counter search services continue to be provided at our Central Search Office in Queensway Government Offices and the District Search Offices at Tai Po, Yuen Long and Tsuen Wan. Customers can also conduct internet searches at www.iris.gov.hk.
After closure, the owners’ corporation services of North, Sai Kung and Sha Tin districts previously provided at Sha Tin Search Office were taken up by the Tai Po Search Office.
All customers and stakeholders, including owners’ corporations in North, Sai Kung and Sha Tin districts, were informed of the new arrangements before closure of the search office. (viii) Owners’ Corporation Services
The Land Registry is responsible for registration of owners’ corporations and search of owners’ corporation records under the Building Management Ordinance. The Ordinance, which falls within the policy jurisdiction of the Home Affairs Bureau, aims to enable owners of multi-storey buildings to establish owners’ corporations to deal with building management matters. During the year, 277 new owners’ corporations have been formed, representing about 3.2% of the total number of owners’ corporations (8,726). |
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