### Estate Agents Ordinance 《地產代理條例》

14. Registered address
(1) Subject to subsection (4), every licensee shall have an address in Hong Kong to which all communications and all notices may be sent.
(2) The registered address shall be stated in an application for the grant or renewal of a licence.
(3) (a) Where an address ceases to be the registered address of a licensee, the licensee shall within the period of 14 days beginning on such cesser, notify the Authority in writing of another address to which all communications and notices may be sent.
(b) Where the Authority receives a notification referred to in paragraph (a), it shall cause the address referred to in the notification to be entered appropriately in the register and thereupon that address shall be the registered address of the licensee by whom or on whose behalf the notification was sent to the Authority.
(4) In the case of a company within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), the registered office for the time being of the company shall be the registered address of the company for the purposes of subsection (1). (Amended 28 of 2012 ss. 912 & 920)

15. Estate agents to be licensed
(1) Subject to this Ordinance, an individual shall not, either by himself or as a member of a partnership—
(a) exercise or carry on or advertise, notify or state that he exercises or carries on, or is willing to exercise or carry on, the business of doing estate agency work as an estate agent; or
(b) act as an estate agent; or
(c) in any way hold himself out to the public as being ready to undertake, whether or not for payment or other remuneration (whether monetary or otherwise), estate agency work as an estate agent,
unless he is a licensed estate agent.
(2) Subject to this Ordinance, a company shall not—
(a) exercise or carry on or advertise, notify or state that it exercises or carries on, or is willing to exercise or carry on, the business of doing estate agency work as an estate agent; or
(b) act as an estate agent; or
(c) in any way hold itself out to the public as being ready to undertake, whether or not for payment or other remuneration (whether monetary or otherwise), estate agency work as an estate agent,
unless it is a licensed estate agent.

### Estate Agents Ordinance 《地產代理條例》

16. Salespersons to be licensed
(1) Subject to this Ordinance—
(a) unless he is the holder of a licence, a person shall not be or act as a salesperson for any licensed estate agent, nor shall he hold himself out to the public as being a salesperson;
(b) a person shall neither accept employment or an appointment as a salesperson from, nor act as a salesperson for, any other person who is required by this Ordinance to hold, but is not the holder of, an estate agent’s licence.
(2) Subsection (1) shall not be construed as—
(a) requiring any licensed salesperson, by reason only of the fact that he does estate agency work solely as a salesperson, to hold an estate agent’s licence; or
(b) requiring any licensed estate agent to hold a salesperson’s licence.

17. Licences and conditions
(1) (a) The Authority may grant licences for the purposes of this Ordinance.
(b) Where a licence is granted, the Authority shall designate the licence as being either an estate agent’s licence or a salesperson’s licence.
(2) A licence granted for the purposes of this Ordinance is not transferable.
(3) The Authority may attach to a licence such conditions as it considers appropriate and conditions so attached to a licence may include conditions prescribed under section 56.
(4) Any conditions attached to a licence under this section shall be specified in the licence.

### Estate Agents Ordinance 《地產代理條例》

18. Right to grant of licences
(1) Notwithstanding sections 19, 20 and 21, where, within the relevant period—
(a) an individual or company makes an application for the grant of an estate agent’s licence to take effect at any time after the grant thereof and within the relevant period; or
(b) an individual makes an application for the grant of a salesperson’s licence to take effect at any time after the grant thereof and within the relevant period,
then, subject to subsection (2) and to payment of the prescribed fee and, in the case of an individual, provided he has attained the age of 18 years and in any case, provided also that the applicant has complied with any requirement prescribed under section 56(1)(d) which is applicable to him or it, the applicant shall be entitled to be granted the licence sought.
(2) (a) No person making an application in accordance with subsection (1) shall be entitled to be granted the licence sought in the application unless the Authority considers that—
(i) the person is a fit and proper person to hold the licence; and
(ii) in the case of a company making an application for the grant of an estate agent’s licence, each of the company’s directors for the time being is a fit and proper person for the purposes of this Ordinance.
(b) In determining whether a person is fit and proper for the purposes of paragraph (a)(i) the Authority shall have regard to—
(i) in the case of an individual making an application for the grant of an estate agent’s licence, the matters described in section 19(2)(a), (c) and (d);
(ii) in the case of a company making an application for the grant of an estate agent’s licence, the matters described in section 20(2)(a);
(iii) in the case of an individual making an application for the grant of a salesperson’s licence, the matters described in section 21(3)(c).
(c) In determining whether a person who is a director of a company making an application for the grant of an estate agent’s licence is a fit and proper person for the purposes of this Ordinance, the Authority shall have regard to the matters described in section 20(3)(a), (c) and (d).
(3) In this section the relevant period (有關期間) means the period determined for the purposes of this section by the Authority with the prior approval of the Secretary and specified in a notice published in the Gazette.

### Estate Agents Ordinance 《地產代理條例》

19. Grant of estate agent’s licences to individuals restricted
(1) An individual shall not be eligible to be granted or hold or continue to hold an estate agent’s licence unless—
(a) he has attained the age which is for the time being prescribed for the purposes of this subsection;
(b) he satisfies the Authority—
(i) that he has a good understanding of any regulations made for the time being under section 56(1)(j) and which apply to a licensed estate agent;
(ii) that he has the educational qualifications or experience or both prescribed for the time being under section 56(1)(d) and which apply to him; and
(iii) that he complies with such other requirements (if any) as are prescribed for the time being under section 56(1)(g) and which apply to him; and
(c) the Authority otherwise considers him a fit and proper person to hold an estate agent’s licence.
(2) In determining whether or not a person is fit and proper for the purpose of holding an estate agent’s licence, the Authority shall have regard to the following—
(a) the fact that the person is an undischarged bankrupt, or has, within the 5 years immediately prior to the day on which the Authority considers, or, where appropriate, begins to consider the matter, made a composition or scheme of arrangement with his creditors;
(b) the fact that the person is a director or officer of a company which is for the time being disqualified under this Ordinance for holding a licence, or was a director or officer of that company at the date when the company was so disqualified;
(c) the fact that the person is a mentally disordered person or a patient within, in either case, the meaning of section 2 of the Mental Health Ordinance (Cap. 136);
(d) any conviction, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, of the person for any offence (other than an offence under this Ordinance), being a conviction as regards which it was necessary to find that the person acted fraudulently, corruptly or dishonestly; and
(e) any conviction of the person under this Ordinance in respect of which he has been sentenced to imprisonment, whether the sentence is suspended or not.