Section B: Estate Management and Rent Policy Chapter 24: Short Term Letting of Commercial Premises (by Estate / Shopping Centre) I. Eligibility of Applicant   1. Applicants, if in the individual capacity, must be 18 years of age or over.             2. Applicants, if in the capacity of a corporation, must be a limited company.             3. If any person who signs as applicants does so as an agent or a trustee for any other person or persons, he shall disclose in his Application Form the names and addresses of such person or persons. If no such disclosure is made, the person signing the Application Form shall be deemed to be a principal and no subsequent disclosure of any trust, agencies, etc. will be recognized by Hong Kong Housing Authority.           II. Ways of Submitting the Application   1. Applicants are invited through notice for leasing of vacant commercial premises of up to 70 m2 in size offered unsuccessfully at least once for a standard term. Details of the commercial premises, including location and area are publicized.             2. Applicants may obtain Application Forms and Conditions of Application at the estate/shopping centre offices concerned.             3. The proposed letting is to be let on a first-come-first-served walk-in basis.             4. Applicants are reminded to note the specified application period and to submit the application to estate/shopping centre offices concerned . Submission after the specified closing time and date will not be considered. Hong Kong Housing Authority will not be responsible for any mislaid applications submitted by methods otherwise.             5. Applicant is required to pay in cash/cashier's order an amount of HK$1,000 as the Application Deposit.           III. Basic Leasing Terms and Conditions   1. Applicants can choose to let for any period from one month up to twelve months. An initial period of less than twelve months may subsequently be extended up to twelve months on request.             2. The licensee may apply for a standard three-year tenancy term during the licence period subject to a rent review and compliance with tenancy conditions.             3. Applications will only be accepted from applicants who will occupy the premises for their own use and no assignment, sub-letting or parting with the possession of the premises or any part thereof will be permitted without the prior written approval from Hong Kong Housing Authority.             4. Applicants should note that under the licence, interest will be charged on the amount of licence fees and/or rates, air-conditioning charge, if any, in arrears at the rate of 2% per month, from the date upon which such payment fell due.             5. The prospective licensees can enjoy a 7-day rent-free period.             6. The attention of applicants is drawn to the fact that whenever the licence is terminated for whatever reasons, the licensee is required to deliver up vacant possession of the premises to Hong Kong Housing Authority unconditionally, and shall not be entitled to any claim for compensation. Hong Kong Housing Authority shall have the full right to relet the premises or otherwise dispose of the premises in such manner and to such person as it may think fit, free from the interference of any person.           7. Applicants should note that the granting of a commercial licence does not confer upon the licensee any exclusive right to any particular trade in the estate/shopping centre concerned, and that Hong Kong Housing Authority reserves the right to let other premises in the estate/shopping centre concerned in whatever manner for the same trade according to the needs as assessed by Hong Kong Housing Authority. Change of user of the premises during the term of the licence shall not be permitted without the written consent of Hong Kong Housing Authority.   8. Applicant should note that under the terms of the Licence Agreement, the Housing Authority shall be entitled to transfer and assign the reversion of the premises and all the right and obligations under the Licence Agreement to any third party on such terms and conditions as the Housing Authority shall think fit without any interference or any claim or demand for compensation whatsoever by the licensee.           IV. The General Requirements for Fitting-out   1. Applicants are advised to note the maximum electricity loading available to the premises. Should additional loading beyond the designed capacity be required, the expenses incurred in upgrading, plus on-cost currently at the rate of 28.7% as supervision charge, will be wholly borne by the prospective licensee, provided that the upgrading is approved by the Housing Department.             2. The prospective licensee shall accept the premises in the state and condition in which they are found at the date when possession is given and shall be responsible for the fitting-out of the premises to meet the requirements of Hong Kong Housing Authority and other competent authorities. All modifications to the building services installations, subject to agreement of the Housing Department, must be carried out by contractors appointed by the Housing Department. The expenses incurred in all modifications, plus on-cost currently at the rate of 28.7% as supervision charge, will be wholly borne by the prospective licensee.             3. The prospective licensee is required to submit plans for the intended conversion to the Housing Department and no conversion work shall be started until written approval is obtained from the Housing Department.             4. The prospective licensee will be allowed to install his own air-conditioning system on the premises if no central air-conditioning is provided but installation of air-conditioning plant and routing of pipe/duct are subject to prior approval from the Housing Department. Besides, properly connected drainage for condensation should be provided where air-conditioning units are used.             5. No installation likely to cause disturbance to persons and properties, (e.g. exhaust fans, fume-extractors, etc.) will be permitted without prior approval from the Housing Department.             6. No alteration to shop front is permitted unless approval has been obtained from the Housing Department. 7. Installation of signage outside the premises is allowed only at designated locations. The location, layout, lettering and colour scheme of the proposed signs are to be approved by the Housing Department.   8. A pre-letting meeting can be arranged upon request to answer questions from prospective licensees before submission of fitting-out plans. A guideline has been developed to help the prospective licensees to identify what types of fitting-out works would require submission to Independent Checking Unit and licensing authority. Respective Shopping Centre Manager will provide the guideline to the prospective licensees before they submit their applications. For complicated submission, a case conference can be arranged with the tenant to collate input from the different disciplines simultaneously.   9. We will vet from Landlord' s role and approve the applications for fitting-out works by 3 classes according to complexity as below. Class 1 : Simple case : No alteration of BS installations, structure, waterproofing, drainage, compartmentation, outlook of the building. To be completed within 7 days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays  Class 2 : Normal case : Considerable amount of building works, relocation of internal partitions, forming of openings in floor or wall. To be completed within 14 days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.  Class 3 : Complicated case : Involved major building works, additional floor or wall, installation of heavy machine or equipment. To be completed within 21 days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.  Note:Time count will stop when reminder to call for supplementary  information is sent out to tenant and resumes when full set of required information is received. V. Normal Leasing Procedures of Short Term Letting   1. Applicants will be notified in writing the result of their applications as soon as a decision is made by Hong Kong Housing Authority.             2. Applicants may be called upon to attend selection interviews and if eligible to sign a Licence the terms of which are those normally applicable to lettings under Hong Kong Housing Authority's management. Applicants shall attend the interviews or execute the Licence whichever is applicable within seven days from the date of a written notice or offer issued by the Director of Housing or an officer delegated by him, and licence fee will be payable upon expiry of the rent free period stated in the Licence.             3. On signing the Licence, in addition to the payment of the licence fee for the first month, the successful applicant shall be required to pay a deposit equivalent to one month's licence fee of the licence term to Hong Kong Housing Authority. Provided that there shall be no outstanding licence fee, and/or rates, air-conditioning charge, if any, or other breaches of the licence, this deposit, without any interest thereon, shall be refunded on termination of the licence.             4. Hong Kong Housing Authority will give prior written notice to the successful applicant to take possession of the leased premises. The date of commencement of the licence shall be the date on which possession of the leased premises is given.           VI. Special Rules and Regulations   1. Hong Kong Housing Authority does not bind itself to accept any application.             2. Applicants are reminded that if manipulation of Hong Kong Housing Authority's application system is discovered, and such has been proved to the satisfaction of the Director of Housing, then the said Director can at his discretion reject the applications from such applicants. The decision by the Director of Housing as to whether the application system has been manipulated and as to whether the applicants are involved in the manipulation is final.             3. No charge is made on the supply of the application form and for the processing of applications. Reports should be made to the appropriate authority immediately for any person purporting to offer assistance in respect of the tenders in return for a reward.             4. Any applicant who attempts to influence consideration of his or her application by approaching any member of the staff of the department or by the use of any other improper means shall render his or her application invalid.             5. Applicants are warned that offering or giving any gratuity, money or gift as an inducement to any employee of the Housing Department in relation to the application constitutes an offence under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and such cases will be reported to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

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