Protecting Your View in Hong Kong Real Estate

Mrs. Li purchased a two-bedroom apartment with a '180° stunning harbor view' at a high price in 2020. At the beginning of this year, she received a notice: the adjacent parking lot was approved to build a 10-story residential building, which would completely block her sea view upon completion. Can she stop the project? Is there any room for compensation?

1. Does Hong Kong have legal protection for 'view rights'?

Hong Kong law does not grant property owners the exclusive right to a 'permanent view'; if new buildings comply with the lease conditions and the Outline Zoning Plan (OZP), the development is legal and does not require compensation for existing owners.

2. Can you oppose the project?

Submitting a representation to the Town Planning Board is the most direct and cost-effective way, which is to submit a written representation during the public consultation period of the Town Planning Board. Cases where representations are fully accepted and force the project to be withdrawn are extremely rare, more often leading to the developer adjusting the design (such as lowering the base, preserving visual corridors) or extending the construction period.

3. To protect yourself, what "homework" should you do before buying a property?

• Check the Outline Zoning Plan
  • https://www.tpb.gov.hk/tc/list_of_plans/plan_schd_ozp.html
  • Check the maximum buildable floors and uses of neighboring land
• View the government's long-term development blueprint
  • https://www.pland.gov.hk/pland_tc/resources/plan_schedules/adopted-misc/hk.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
  • Understand the government's long-term planning direction
• Review the Town Planning Board meeting records
  • https://www.tpb.gov.hk/tc/meetings/tpb_meeting.html
  • Notice if there are any related applications for the neighboring land
• Request a copy of the land lease from the Lands Department
  • https://www.landsd.gov.hk/tc/index.html
  • Check the development conditions

4. Practical Tips

Suppose you are considering purchasing a new property in the Kai Tak runway area, aiming for a front-line Victoria Harbour view. You notice that the land at the end of the runway has not been fully developed yet. If residential land is granted in the future, will it block your Victoria Harbour view?

• According to the Kai Tak Outline Zoning Plan and government land sale documents, the maximum statutory building height for most residential plots in the runway area is 80 m PD; some inland plots can reach up to 100 m PD.
• Assuming a general residential floor height of ≈3 meters, this translates to approximately 27 floors and 33 floors, respectively.
• Therefore, if you want to ensure an "unobstructed Victoria Harbour view" in the future, you should target units above 100 m PD (approximately 34th floor or higher). This way, even if the land in front is developed up to the statutory height limit, your view will still be above the rooftops.

First, check the planning documents and understand the height restrictions before deciding on which floor to purchase. Doing your homework before buying a property will make your "view investment" more likely to retain its value in the long term.