Stamping of Tenancy Agreement

What is the effect of a stamped tenancy agreement?

An unstamped tenancy agreement cannot be received in evidence in civil proceedings before a court and cannot be acted upon, filed or registered by public officer or body corporate.

Imprinting conventional stamp on a tenancy agreement or issuing a stamp certificate by the Stamp Office denotes the payment of stamp duty on the relevant tenancy agreement, but is not a certification process.

Who is liable for paying stamp duty on the tenancy agreement of a property?

Persons executing the tenancy agreement are liable for payment of stamp duty under the Stamp Duty Ordinance.

The tenancy agreement has to be stamped within 30 days after the date of execution. Stamping of the tenancy agreement can be handled by the landlord, tenant or related persons, such as estate agent and representative of the landlord or tenant, and they have the discretion to determine their shares of stamp duty and payment arrangements.

How to apply for stamping of a tenancy agreement? How long will it take to stamp tenancy agreement?

Members of the public may submit a stamping application using e-Stamping service at GovHK, by sending the application form [IRSD111(E)] by post or in person at the Stamp Office (1/F, Inland Revenue Centre, 5 Concorde Road, Kai Tak, Kowloon, Hong Kong).

e-Stamping service provides 24-hour convenient service without the need to submit a tenancy agreement. If you pay the stamp duty online, the Stamp Office will issue a stamp certificate instantly after receiving the stamp duty. If you choose to pay offline, the Stamp Office will issue a stamp certificate within 2 working days after receiving the stamp duty.

If you submit a stamping application by post, the Stamp Office will send you the stamp certificate by post within 5 working days after receiving the payment.

If you present the original tenancy agreement in person to the Stamp Office for stamping, the Stamp Office will imprint a conventional stamp on the agreement on the day it receives the stamp duty.

How can potential tenants safeguard their own interests?

Potential tenants should appoint licensed estate agents to handle leasing matters and seek professional legal advice when necessary. Before entering into any tenancy agreement, potential tenants should also view the property for rent and check the property’s ownership particulars at the Land Registry. Potential tenants may refer to a booklet "A Guide to Tenancy" published by the Estate Agents Authority for things they need to pay attention to when renting a property.

What is a “Government lease”?

"Government lease" is a legal term defined under section 3 of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1). It means a lease of land granted by or on behalf of the Government, and includes—

an instrument whereby—
1. the term of the lease has been extended; or
2. the provisions of the lease have been varied;
an agreement for such a lease; and
a Crown lease.

Are Government leases chargeable with stamp duty?

No. Under section 39(c) of the Stamp Duty Ordinance (“the Ordinance”), all grants by the Government and all Government leases and all surrenders of such grants and leases are not chargeable with stamp duty.

I rented a shop / unit from a Government department. Is the tenancy agreement chargeable with stamp duty?

No. A tenancy agreement entered into by a Government department for letting out a shop or unit is considered a Government lease. Therefore, it is not chargeable with stamp duty under section 39(c) of the Ordinance.

Continuing from the above question, is it mandatory to present the agreement to the Stamp Office?

No. As the agreement is exempt from stamp duty, you are not required to present it to the Stamp Office for stamping.

Continuing from the above question, how can I obtain written confirmation from the Stamp Office that the agreement is not chargeable with stamp duty?

Government leases are exempt from stamp duty and do not need to be submitted to the Stamp Office. For written confirmation, the relevant tenancy agreement can be submitted to the Stamp Office. Once the Stamp Office has preliminarily confirmed that the tenancy agreement is a Government lease, it will issue a notice informing you that, pursuant to section 39(c) of the Ordinance, Government leases are not chargeable with stamp duty, and that the Stamp Office’s preliminary view is that the tenancy agreement is a Government lease and not chargeable with stamp duty. Please note that the notice does not constitute a binding ruling on any specific lease. If you still require formal confirmation for your particular lease, you need to submit an adjudication request to the Stamp Office.

10.

How can I make an adjudication request in respect of a Government lease?

You may make an adjudication request under section 13(1) of the Ordinance by:

submitting a completed application form (Form U3/SOG/SL10); and
paying an adjudication fee of $50 for each instrument.

Upon approval, the Government lease will be imprinted with a stamp denoting "adjudicated not chargeable with any duty".

11.

I have previously paid stamp duty on a Government lease, can I apply for a refund of the stamp duty already paid?

According to sections 49 and 51 of the Ordinance, you may apply to the Collector of Stamp Revenue for cancellation of stamp or stamp certificate (as the case may be) and a refund of the stamp duty already paid, within 2 years after the date of the Government lease; or (if the Government lease is not dated) within 2 years after the date when the person who first or solely executed the Government lease.

You can apply for the refund using Form IRSD25. If the Government lease has been stamped by conventional stamping, you also need to present the original document for cancellation of the stamp.