In Chow Chui Chui v Kafull Investment Ltd ([2016] HKEC 1889, CA) the DMC for a building divided the building by allocating 48 shares to a ground floor shop, 12 shares to each of the first to third floors (the ground to third floors being described as the ‘non-domestic accommodation’), one share to each domestic flat on the floors above the non-domestic accommodation and one share to the main roof and external walls. There was a first sub-DMC that sub-divided the ground floor into five units and allocated the 48 ground floor shares amongst these units. There was a second sub-DMC that sub-divided the units on the first and second floors of the building and divided the shares in the main DMC among the sub-divided units. Resolutions were passed at an owners’ meeting. Present at the meeting were fourteen owners from the non-domestic portion and two from the domestic portion. The question was whether the meeting failed to meet the quorum requirements in schedule 3, para. 5(1)(b) of the Building Management Ordinance (requiring that 10% of the owners should be present).
The contention was that only those who were ‘owners’ in accordance with the main DMC could be considered ‘owners’ for this purpose. Thus, there could only be 4 owners from the non-domestic portion (one for each floor). The Court of Appeal (Kwan JA giving the Court’s judgment) rejected this contention. Section 2 of the Building Management Ordinance defines an ‘owner’ as one who appears from the Land Registry to be the owner of an undivided share of land on which there is a building. Section 39 of the Building Management Ordinance provides that an owner’s share is to be determined in accordance with a DMC registered at the Land Registry. Here, the shares had been attached to the sub-divided units by the terms of a sub-DMC, the owners of the sub-divided units had the right to exclusive possession and the Land Registry records confirmed their ownership ([35]). They were owners and, as a result, the meeting was quorate.
There was nothing to limit the Ordinance’s references to a ‘deed of mutual covenant’ to the main DMC ([39]) especially where, as here, the main DMC contemplated the possibility of sub-division. In fact, it is enough that the main DMC does not prohibit sub-division ([40]).
Michael Lower
