Exemption of Village Houses in the New Territories from Payment of Rates
Introduction
By virtue of Section 36(3) of the Rating Ordinance (Cap. 116), the Director of Home Affairs may, under the delegated authority of the Chief Executive, exempt genuine village houses located outside the areas designated under Section 36(1)(c) from payment of rates.
Eligibility
In general, an indigenous villager or his immediate family member may be exempted from payment of rates in respect of genuine village house in which he resides.
Under the existing rates exemption policy for the New Territories, “an indigenous villager” means a person descended through the male line from a person who was in 1898 a resident of an established village in the New Territories (except New Kowloon) in Hong Kong; and “immediate family members” means one’s parents, grandparents, spouse, children, brothers, sisters, parents-in-law and grandparents-in-law.
How to Apply
Existing Village Houses
Applicant shall complete the “Application Form for Exemption of Village Houses in the New Territories from Payment of Rates” [Click here to download (in Chinese only)] and submit together with the supporting documents to the relevant District Office. The Application Form can be obtained from the respective Home Affairs Enquiry Centres in the New Territories.
Applicant may also choose to fill in the electronic form (in Chinese only), and upload the supporting documents.
For details of exemption criteria or application procedures, please refer to the “Guidance Notes on Application for Exemption of Village Houses in the New Territories from Payment of Rates” [Click here to download (in Chinese only)].
New Village Houses
A newly-built village house refers to a village house for which a Certificate of Compliance or a letter of No Objection to Occupy is being applied.
Applicant shall complete the “Application Form for Exemption of Newly-built Village Houses in the New Territories from Payment of Rates” [Click here to download (in Chinese only)] and submit together with the supporting documents to the relevant District Office, if he has submitted the construction completion report (CE/4 or CE/5) or any other documents reporting completion of works to the District Lands Office (“DLO”) at which the house is located. In general, the “Application Form for Exemption of Newly-built Village Houses in the New Territories from Payment of Rates” will only be distributed by the relevant DLO upon receipt of the construction completion report or any other documents reporting completion of works. For extra application forms, please contact our Rates Exemption Section on 3586 2687 or 3586 2493.
For details of exemption criteria or application procedures, please refer to the “Guidance Notes on Application for Exemption of Newly-built Village Houses in the New Territories from Payment of Rates” [Click here to download (in Chinese only)].
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