Land Registry News

A Message from the Land Registrar

Central Registration and Integrated Registration Information System (IRIS) have now been running for 6 months. Business has been hectic but the promise of better services is being delivered.

At the beginning of August we were able to publish a new performance pledge that at least 97% of all documents submitted for registration would be returned to the issuer within 18 working days, 2 days less than our old pledge. This was despite the pressure from a 30% increase in demand since February. The performance pledge covers the whole process of registration and imaging of documents.

Looking at performance more closely, by May over 85% of documents were completing registration work within 11 days, compared with only about 60% in April. In more recent weeks, the speed of imaging picked up as new equipment came into service and the backlogs from the surge of new business were cleared. This was a tremendous team effort and underlines the potential to continue to improve the quality and speed of service that we can give to our customers.

As well as improving the speed, accessibility and quality of services we offer, IRIS and Central Registration have clearly improved the value we provide. Over the first four months of operation the lower fees for search and copying services have enabled customers to get these services for about $12 million less than would have been paid under the old system.

Even as the new system has been settling in, preparation for even greater change with the introduction of title registration has been gearing up. The Title Registration Operation Division has been brought up to strength, a new IT team for IRIS II development set up and the legal team expanded. There is two years of hard work ahead to get new IT systems ready, take the final legislative package through and carry out a major programme of public education and professional training.

The successful launch of title registration presents a major challenge to the Land Registry. In facing it, we no longer have the guidance of Alice Lee, who retired at the end of July after nine years as Registry Manager. But, she has left us with a legacy of successful change and commitment to service on which we can draw for the future. I have full confidence that the Land Registry will be able to meet all its challenges and continue to deliver ever better service to the city of Hong Kong.

K A SALKELD, J.P.The Land Registrar & General Manager
The Land Registry Trading Fund, Hong Kong

Update: IRIS I & II

Our Integrated Registration Information System (IRIS) has been running for 6 months providing computer facilities to support central registration of property transactions in Hong Kong. To our customers, the IRIS Online Services offer the convenience for anyone with an Internet account to carry out property searches and place orders for land records from their own computers. Through the IRIS Online Services, the general public and our subscribers can now enjoy easier, cheaper and quicker access to property information in Hong Kong.

To serve customers better and to respond to comments and requests made since the launch of IRIS we are continuing to upgrade the system. Major enhancements so far include:

• Release of Chinese version of the IRIS Online Services in May 2005 to facilitate search of land records on Chinese screens in Chinese.
  
• Installation of additional fax lines to ensure that search orders by fax are sufficiently catered for. The number of pages per document for delivery by fax has been increased to 50 in September.
  

We will continue to identify and introduce improvements to the IRIS as part of our constant effort to enhance the quality of our services to our customers.

Development of the entire IRIS system is a two-phase process. By the end of this year we expect to start development of the next phase, IRIS II, which will support the new title registration system to be established pursuant to the Land Titles Ordinance.

Update: Land Titles Ordinance

The Legal Services Branch and the Title Registration Development Branch have been very busy during the past few months.

The review of the Land Titles Ordinance (LTO) has been completed. Draft Drafting Instructions (DDIs) are being prepared for the LTO amendment bill. These should be completed by November. The amendment bill will incorporate a variety of consequential amendments to other legislation as well as refinements to the LTO. These will be brought into effect before commencement of operation of the new system. In order to meet the target, intensive committee meetings are being held.

As well as working on the main Ordinance, Regulations are also being prepared. The first part of DDIs on the main Land Titles Regulations was sent to the Law Draftsman for comments in June 2005. The second part was sent in September and the last part will be sent in December 2005. The DDIs on court rules are being drafted and will be sent to the Law Draftsman and the High Court for comments shortly. The DDI on fees and levies are also under preparation. DDIs for all the regulations are to be completed by the end of the year.

Apart from the above, the Land Titles Regulations Sub-committee is also reviewing the application forms for use under the LTO, prepared by the Title Registration Development Branch. Standard conveyancing forms are being prepared as well. The Land Titles (Fees and Levies) Regulations Sub-committee has identified the list of chargeable items and is taking a costing exercise to determine the level of charges.

Subject to the Legislative Council's examination of the amendment bill, we aim to start applying the LTO to new land in July 2007. All Branches of the Land Registry are in full gear to prepare for the implementation of the new system.

A New Environment for Learning

Training and Development is one of the key human resource strategies of the Land Registry. Significant resources are invested in order to foster a learning culture and encourage self-development. The new Learning Resource Centre (LRC) achieves the objective of providing a better learning environment for all staff.

Self-learning Booths

Six multimedia workstations are set up with Internet access for computer-based training and self-directed learning activities.

Library

The LRC offers extensive collections of books, videos, periodicals, journals, government and corporate publications, and CD-ROMs for staff training and development. Its collection counts over 180 titles covering a wide variety of subjects such as personal development, customer service, performance management, communication and computer softwares application skills. Besides, there are more than 270 training packages in video, CD-ROM and manual format for self-learning.

Classroom

The classroom is equipped with the latest audio-visual equipment to facilitate classroom training. It is also a good place for group discussions and meetings. Besides, the classroom with its high quality acoustic folding partition design has the flexibility to accommodate different class sizes to suit different training occasions.

Study Corner

To instil a good learning atmosphere, the new LRC reserves a simple-designed but quiet study corner for staff to enjoy quiet reading of books, magazines, journals or periodicals of their own choice.

General Information & Publicity

Land Registry Information Pamphlets

The Land Registry launched the Integrated Registration Information System (IRIS) on 12 February 2005. To tie in with the new operation under IRIS, the Registry published or updated the following pamphlets to give customers timely and useful information on the services provided:

"The Land Registry"

This revised leaflet outlines the function of the Registry, the services it provides to the community, how it operates on registration of land documents, search of land records and registration of owners' corporations. It also highlights the progress of our service improvement projects.

"A Guide to Services under the Integrated Registration Information System"

This new guide sets out the new service arrangements under IRIS. It provides new main features on Central Registration and search services under IRIS. It also contains a full list of offices with its services provided.

"How to Conduct Searches of Land Records"

This revised pamphlet gives members of the public a better understanding of the procedure for making land search after IRIS implementation. It introduces different types of land records maintained by the Registry. It also contains the procedures and fees for conducting searches and obtaining copies of land records at the Registry.

"Understanding the Computerized Land Register"

This pamphlet has been revised to help searchers to have a better understanding of the types of computerized land registers and the information available from its enhanced format. It also gives a sample and an English-Chinese glossary of terms that are usually found in the computerized land register.

"Guidance Notes for Persons Applying for the Incorporation of an Owners' Corporation at the Land Registry"

This revised pamphlet gives members of the public a better understanding of the steps that need to be taken for the formation of an owners' corporation. It describes how to convene the meeting of owners and apply for incorporation of an owners' corporation. It should be read in conjunction with the booklet "How to form an Owners' Corporation and achieve effective building management" published by the Home Affairs Department.

You can obtain the above information pamphlets at any office of the Registry or download from our website.

Performance Pledges for 2005/06

Through continuous good teamwork and staff dedication, the Land Registry has achieved all the performance pledges set for 2004/05. We are glad that the targets for all services were met by 100%.

As part of our continuing commitment to improve the quality and efficiency of services that we provide, an Integrated Registration Information System (IRIS) introducing new business processes, central registration and online search services was implemented on 12 February 2005. New service types and service standards were introduced.

The pamphlet on the performance pledges for 2005/06 has been released and copies are available for collection at any office of the Land Registry and the District Offices of the Home Affairs Department. It can also be downloaded from our website (http://www.landreg.gov.hk). A table showing the actual performance for major services of the Registry in 2004/05 and the new service types and standards for 2005/06 are given overleaf.

Sale of Street Index (37th Edition) and New Territories Lot/Address Cross Reference Table (6th Edition)

The 37th edition of the Street Index and the 6th edition of the New Territories Lot/Address Cross Reference Table (CRT) are available for sale from 29 April 2005.

Since the 36th edition of the Street Index, 573 amendments have been made and 8 new streets and 64 new lots / sections / subsections have been added to the Street Index data. As for the CRT, 4,238 amendments have been made and 87 new streets and 1,864 new lots / sections / subsections have been added to the CRT data since the 5th edition.

The price of the Street Index or the CRT is HK$250 per compact disc. The licence fees for a computer network linked with less than 50 terminals and a computer network linked with 50 terminals or more are HK$2,000 and HK$4,000 respectively.

12th Anniversary of the Land Registry Trading Fund

On 3 August 2005, the Land Registry celebrated the twelfth anniversary of its establishment as the first trading fund department in Hong Kong. A cocktail reception was held at the JW Marriott Hotel. Over a hundred guests participated.

Mrs. Rita Lau, the Permanent Secretary (Housing, Planning and Lands) (Planning and Lands), was our Guest of Honour. Addressing the gathering, Mrs. Lau thanked our guests for their support to the Land Registry in the past. She was confident that the Registry would meet all new challenges with success and continue to bring better service to Hong Kong.

Also speaking at the event, Mr. Kim Salkeld, the Land Registrar, said that the introduction of central registration had brought new value to our customers through a broader range of services, increased ease of access, reduced fees and extended service hours. Looking to the future, we would continue to work together with our business partners and associates in order to give our customers and Hong Kong the best in efficiency and value.

Among our guests were our major business partners, long-time associates, valued customers, members of the Legislative Council and District Council, members of the Law Society, Academics and representatives from professional bodies and government departments.

ICT Expo 2005

To promote the wider use of the Integrated Registration Information System (IRIS) by members of the public, the Land Registry took part at the International ICT Expo 2005 held in April to showcase and demonstrate the IRIS Online Services to visitors to the event.

The International Expo is an annual event in Hong Kong to exhibit the latest information & communications technology products and solutions. The event this year attracted over 500 exhibitors and 26,000 visitors.

We showcased and demonstrated the IRIS at the event as part of the e-government pavilion together with a number of other government bureaux/departments. Visitors to our booth were able to conduct property searches and place orders for land records via an Internet connection to the IRIS web site.

We will continue to take part in public exhibitions to promote the IRIS Online Services to the public.

COMMENTS

Land Registry News would like to hear from you. If there are any specific subjects you would like to read about or if you have any comments on what you have read so far, please write to us at the freepost address (local mail only) given below:

The Land Registry
Freepost No. 10
Hong Kong

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