LCQ11: Enhancing property mortgage terms calculation method
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Question:
Currently, banks generally adopt 75 years minus the age of the property or the borrower (i.e. "75-n"), taking the shorter period as the basis, to calculate a property mortgage term of not more than 30 years. There are views that various measures introduced by the Government in recent years, including the Mandatory Building and Window Inspection Scheme and the Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme, have helped to improve the maintenance of many aged buildings. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has maintained the number of transactions of properties aged over 50 years in the past three years;
(2) whether it has maintained the total number of units in private buildings currently aged over 50 years; and
(3) whether the authorities will study promoting to the banking industry to enhance the calculation method of property mortgage terms by uniformly changing the formula from "75-n" to "80-n"?
Reply:
President,
Proper maintenance of private buildings is owners' primary responsibility. In addition to identifying high-risk private buildings through the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS) for issuing MBIS notices requiring owners to inspect and repair the buildings, the Government also partners with the Urban Renewal Authority to launch a number of building rehabilitation subsidy schemes to support owners in need with proper building maintenance. These schemes include the Operation Building Bright 2.0 and Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme (LIMSS), etc. In the 2026-27 Budget, the Government announced that $3 billion would be earmarked for drawing up a new subsidy scheme to assist owners in need with building inspections and repairs, and $1 billion would be allocated to extend the LIMSS.
After consulting the Development Bureau and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), our reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:
(1) & (2) According to the Buildings Department (BD)'s record, as at the end of 2025, there were approximately 11 000 private buildings aged 50 years or above. However, the BD does not maintain records of the number of units involved.
As regards the number of property transactions, the Land Registry (LR)'s function is to register and maintain records of the instruments submitted to the LR, including property sale and purchase agreements, assignments, and mortgages/legal charges. Therefore, the LR does not maintain statistics on transactions of properties by building age.
(3) The approval of loans is a commercial decision made by banks. When processing mortgage applications, banks take into account a host of factors, including the borrower's repayment capacity and the condition of the building. The age of the property and the borrower are just among various factors of consideration. When considering whether to approve mortgage applications for a residential property, the information regarding the completion of inspection and repair of the building may assist banks in evaluating the condition of the building. The HKMA does not set a specific mortgage term limit based on the age of a property or a borrower.
Ends/Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Issued at HKT 14:35
Issued at HKT 14:35
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