The Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) Ordinance, Cap. 545 allows the majority owner of the undivided shares in a lot to obtain a court order for the sale of all the undivided shares in a public auction. The minority owners of the lot are required to dispose of their interests in the lot to the successful bidder. The justification for such interference with property rights is urban renewal. The Ordinance covers buildings in respect of which redevelopment is justified due to their old age or very poor state of repair.
In practice the majority owners are developers who very often are the sole bidders. Competition in the auctions is very rare. Minority owners have argued that the Ordinance infringes Article 105 of the Basic Law.
This talk considers if the Ordinance strikes a fair balance under the proportionality test and will deal with two questions concerning justiciability, which have been raised in the cases.
References will also be made to the Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) Ordinance (Amendment) Bill 2023.
