95 / 123
95
Boththe tenantandthewitnessmustprovidetheirHKIDnumberorcopyofpassportwith their
signatures. The tenant will also need to provide;
+
Business Card.
+
Security Deposit.
+
Occasionally, the landlord may request a Proof of Income Letter.
WARNING
Ifthepropertyissubjecttoamortgage,aLetterofConsentorotherwiseknownasaBank
Consent Letter from the mortgagor is necessary before finalizing the lease. This will protect the
tenant from the risk of re-possession by themortgagor if the landlord fails to fulfill the terms and
obligations under the mortgage agreement.
Legal Fees
In most cases, the cost of preparation of the tenancy agreement by the landlord’s solicitor is paid by
the landlord.When separate solicitors are used, it is standard practice for each party to bear their
owncosts.Thegovernment regulates solicitors’feesforthepreparationoftenancyagreements.
In fact, there is no requirement that tenancy agreements be prepared by solicitors. The agreement
itselfisquitestandard.With theconsentofbothparties,andatnocosttoeither,Dwellworkswill
preparethetenancyagreementandhavethedocumentssignedbythe tenant and the landlord.
InkeepingwithHongKong law,thedocument mustbe“stamped”bythe government. A copy of
these legally binding lease agreements will then be given to each party.
Legal Assistance
Tel: 2522 8018
Provides useful taped legal information in English and Cantonese on over 65 topics, such as,
divorce, tenancy, employment, the Small Claims Tribunal, etc.
Security Deposit
Asecuritydeposit isheld by the landlord for thedurationof the lease toensure thedue
performanceofthetenant.Theamountisusuallyequivalenttotwomonths’rent,andispayable
uponthesigningofthe formal tenancyagreement.Itisrefunded to thetenantusuallytwoweeks
after the tenant has vacated the premises.
In somecases,adepositequal to twomonths’ managementfees isalso
required.Inthe caseofa
personal lease, the landlord may request a security deposit equivalent to three months’ rent. None
of these deposits accrues interest payable to the tenant.