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Landlord served notice for defaulting on mortgage

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  1. #1

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    1) Do you have the rental agreement with the stamp duty paid? Not sure what you mean by "stamped" I assume that stamp duty is paid.

    2) Do you recall if the bank authorised the landlord to rent the apartment - this is the sticky point. Owners are supposed to get bank authorisation if they're renting their mortaged property. If not, then there may be a problem.

    You do need to be concerned. This happened to me about 15+ years ago. Luckily a good friend of mine was an MD at the bank and he put me in touch with their collections person. What I was basically told was "Anything in the apartment is fair game. We're not supposed to tell you this, but your landlord does not have permission from us to lease the apartment. We'll be arriving on xx date with the bailiffs - empty out and move out by then". No amount of influence would work - the bank wanted the flat.

    All I got was a fridge and an oven out of the deal.

    Bottom line - the new owner wants a vacated flat. It is difficult for them to resell the apartment / whatever if a tenant is occupying it.

    Try to make contact with the bank and see if they're agreeable to you staying on - do not assume you're protected by that contract as it may technically be void if the landlord has not done the right thing by informing the bank of the tenancy.

    Read this - it may be updated (the CLIC is a good resource for understanding your (limited) rights in HK).

    CLIC - Landlord & Tenant - · I received a letter from a bank claiming to be the mortgagee of the property that I am renting. The bank claimed that the tenancy document between my landlord and me was made without its consent and asked me to move out o

    Last edited by shri; 31-03-2016 at 08:24 AM.

  2. #2

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    Good advice from Shri above. Something similar happened to me many years ago - assume that the landlord is renting out the property without permission (does anyone get permission?) and that as a result, your tenancy agreement is void. I was lucky in that I did not lose any money - got my deposit back from the landlord and then moved out.

    I would be looking for somewhere else to live.


  3. #3

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    @juanalias - by the way, I noticed that this is just initiation of court proceedings, not an eviction notice. I think this means you have a month or two or may be less, depending on when the hearing is.

    I remember getting very dirty looks from the management people in the building - my landlord had not been paying management fees and they thought I was responsible for it. Check with your management company - they may be able to give you a clue how bad the situation is, if the landlord has not been paying them.

    Contact your landlord ASAP and have a chat with them. But be fully prepared to move out if you get an eviction notice.


  4. #4

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    The property agent is supposed to tell you about the bank permission thing. Best you can hope from them is that they waive their commission and help you find a new flat.

    Stamp duty is just ankther tax in HK. They don't verify that the landlord has permission to lease.


  5. #5

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    SHRI : Quote"Stamp duty is just another tax in HK. They don't verify that the landlord has permission to lease.[/QUOTE]
    Stamp duty office do not even know if the person who has signed as the Landlord, is the really owner. Their job is to collect the tax.

    Last edited by Oldtimer; 31-03-2016 at 10:16 AM.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    1) Not sure what you mean by "stamped" I assume that stamp duty is paid.
    When stamp duty is paid on a rental agreement, it is commonly referred to as having been "stamped". Same for transfers of property or shares.

  7. #7

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    Thats what I assumed, but wanted to make sure it was not some sort of company chop by the landlord's company.


  8. #8

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    One last thing that I remembered - your deposit. The original owner is liable for it, not the new owner (i.e. the bank) if the property gets repossessed. Make sure you're also protected on this front.

    JAherbert likes this.

  9. #9

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    I believe you have a case against the agent that arranged the rental. Checking that landlord has the right to lease the flat is embedded in the rental agreement. If you leased it directly with the owner without any agent intervention then you are out of luck.


  10. #10

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    STOP paying rent and live there for a while and once the deposit is used up, Move!!!!!!!!

    TheBrit, JasFamily and JAherbert like this.

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