The Development Bureau today responded to the judgment handed down by the Court of First Instance of the High Court on a judicial review of the Small House Policy.

The bureau welcomed the court’s ruling that the Free Building Licence arrangement under the policy, being a lawful traditional right and interest of the indigenous inhabitants of the New Territories within the meaning of Article 40 of the Basic Law, is lawful and constitutional.

On the ruling that the Private Treaty Grant and Land Exchange arrangements under the policy are unlawful, the bureau will consider whether to lodge an appeal after studying the judgment in detail and seeking legal advice.

During the period when the Government considers whether to lodge an appeal, the Lands Department will suspend the receipt of new applications for building small houses through Private Treaty Grant and Land Exchange, as well as the processing of such applications already received, it said.

As for small house grants made through Private Treaty Grant and Land Exchange before the judgment, the court said that a part of the Small House Policy being unlawful does not mean that small house grants made are also unlawful, the bureau said.

In other words, these grants remain valid unless the court accepts any grounds for setting them aside in the future.

The policy has been in place since 1972. The forms of land grants under the policy include Free Building Licence, which allows applicants to build small houses on their private land, and Private Treaty Grant for grant of government land and Land Exchange. 

The bureau noted up to 90% of small house grants in the past decade were under the Free Building Licence arrangement.