EAA Publications
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| The Freshman |
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| Do not sign any agreement
for an HOS flat unless all proper documents are available |
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Ms Cheung was a public housing
tenant who would like to purchase a flat in the HOS Secondary
Market Scheme. She had already applied to the Housing Authority
for a "Certificate of Eligibility to Purchase". She
instructed an estate agency to look for a suitable flat, and
signed an estate agency agreement. Not long afterwards, an agent
took her to view a flat with which she was quite pleased. At
the time the vendor had not obtained a "Certificate of
Availability for Sale" but said that he would obtain one
as soon as possible, Ms Cheung thereupon signed a provisional
agreement for sale and purchase with the vendor but left the
space for the date of signing blank. She also drew a cheque
in the amount of $10,000 for the deposit, to be held by the
agent for the time being.
A few weeks later, Ms Cheung asked the agent whether the vendor
had obtained a Certificate of Availability for Sale, but the
agent said that he had not been able to contact the vendor.
After further questioning, she discovered that the vendor had
sold the flat to a higher bidder through another estate agency.
Ms Cheung then demanded compensation from the vendor, but the
latter refused on the ground that he had not received her deposit
and no date had been affixed to the agreement.
Ms Cheung then sought legal advice and was told that as the
vendor had not obtained a Certificate of Availability for Sale
at the time of the signing of the agreement, the agreement would
be void. Ms Cheung finally gave up demanding compensation from
the vendor.
In a resale of an HOS flat, the Estate Agents Authority recommends
that the parties should not sign any agreement until all the
necessary documents are ready. The Housing Ordinance (Cap. 283
of the Laws of Hong Kong) provides that without the written
consent of the Housing Authority, agreement purporting to alienate
any property under the Housing Ordinance shall be void and anyone
signing such an agreement will have committed an offence. Therefore,
anyone who wants to sell a flat under the HOS or the Private
Sector Participation Scheme in the HOS Secondary Market Scheme,
or anyone who is qualified and plans to buy such a flat, should
exercise caution.
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