Hong Kong Ordinances

TRUSTEE ORDINANCE - SECT 17

Powers of trustees of renewable leaseholds to renew and raise money for the purpose

(1) A trustee of any leaseholds for lives or years which are renewable from
time to time either under any covenant or contract, or by custom or usual
practice, may, if he thinks fit, and shall, if thereto required by any person
having any beneficial interest, present or future, or contingent, in the
leaseholds, use his best endeavours to obtain from time to time a renewed
lease of the same hereditaments on the accustomed and reasonable terms, and
for that purpose may from time to time make or concur in making a surrender of
the lease for the time being subsisting, and do all such other acts as are
requisite: Provided that, where by the terms of the settlement or will the
person in possession for his life or other limited interest is entitled to
enjoy the same without any obligation to renew or to contribute to the expense
of renewal, this section shall not apply unless the consent in writing of that
person is obtained to the renewal on the part of the trustee.

(2) If money is required to pay for the renewal, the trustee effecting the
renewal may pay the same out of any money then in his hands in trust for the
persons beneficially interested in the lands to be comprised in the renewal
lease, and if he has not in his hands sufficient money for the purpose he may
raise the money required by mortgage of the hereditaments to be comprised in
the renewed lease, or of any other hereditaments for the time being subject to
the uses or trusts to which those hereditaments are subject, and no person
advancing money upon a mortgage purporting to be under this power shall be
bound to see that the money is wanted, or that no more is raised than is
wanted for the purpose, or otherwise as to the application thereof.

(3) This section applies to trusts created either before or after the
commencement of this Ordinance, but nothing in this section shall authorize
any trustee to do anything which he is in express terms forbidden to do, or to
omit to do anything which he is in express terms directed to do, by the
instrument creating the trust. [cf. 1893 c. 53 s. 19 U.K.]