Hong Kong to tighten media access to land records, triggering concerns

Hong Kong lawmakers and the media industry have raised concerns about the authorities’ plan to tighten arrangements for journalists searching land records, with some legislators urging the government to explain operational details and streamline the application to support investigative reporting.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association voiced objections on Wednesday, after the government tabled eight pieces subsidiary legislation, including the Land Titles Regulation that covers land record search arrangements, at the Legislative Council for negative vetting.

Negative vetting involves enacting the law first and scrutinising it later. Most provisions, including the tightened search arrangements, will take effect in the first half of next year.

The association said authorities had not justified the changes and had not consulted the public beforehand, stressing that the arrangements would weaken the public’s power to monitor the property market.

“We call on the government to withdraw the provisions tightening land searches and to restore the long-standing position that existed before the amendments, under which land records could be inspected without any restriction,” the association said.

The new search arrangements are the government’s latest move to tighten thresholds for public access to information, after it imposed restrictions on access to the vehicle registry and Companies Registry.

The government said Hong Kong currently did not restrict who could access land records and documents, and the new arrangements were aimed at protecting privacy while ensuring the system’s transparency and efficiency.

Under the new regime, only land record searches for nine specific purposes can be used to obtain essential information, such as the names of current and former owners, purchase prices, registration dates, encumbrances, application forms and supporting documents for current entries.

Specific purposes include property valuation, due diligence for transactions, building management, legal proceedings, conducting academic and market research and conducting inspections in the public interest.

The registrar will consider applications filed based on public interest individually, considering how the records would be used to serve the interests of society, if they outweigh the right to privacy and whether the documents would be misused, among other factors.

Meanwhile, historical records, such as documents relating to previous property transfers or building orders that have been complied with, can only be accessed by 15 types of people.

The list does not explicitly include journalists, but does allow those who declare that the applications are made in the public interest, current or former owners and professionals.

The association doubted whether media outlets could secure approval from authorities, as most reporting could only establish links to the public interest after obtaining the records.

“The new rules shut the gate before any evidence of public interest exists and require applicants to produce proof of public interest in order to have it opened, putting the cart before the horse,” it said.

The association also expected land searches to be obstructed, as only one of the 17 applications made by media for vehicle registration particulars was partially approved after considerable delay.

Lawmaker Rebecca Chan Hoi-yan, a former news editor at Now TV, urged the government to help media reporting under the new system.

“Press freedom must be respected. When the public interest is involved, it is necessary for the media to conduct land record searches,” Chan said. “Is there a faster mechanism to get approval?”

Chan cited the example of using a standardised application form endorsed by the news outlet’s management and collecting applications through the Information Services Department, the government’s communication agency for the media sector.

Roundtable lawmaker Mark Chong Ho-fung also urged authorities to set clear criteria for assessing media applications.

“Media needs to safeguard the public’s right to know, such as whether lawmakers have failed to declare conflicts of interest [on land matters],” he said.

“At least the operational details should be clearer, including the assessment details and some objective guidelines.”

Election Committee lawmaker Andrew Lam Siu-lo, a town planner, said that while the changes would tighten the rules, there was still room for the media to conduct land searches if their reasons were deemed valid by the government.

He said he supported the establishment of a bills committee to discuss the details of the amendment.

Lawmaker Julia Lau Man-kwan, who represents the architectural, surveying, planning and landscape sector, explained that the subsidiary legislations were intended to streamline arrangements for agricultural land.

She added that the mechanism offered news outlets to apply based on public interest.