What stamping is, and what it is not
Stamping is paying duty on a tenancy agreement to the Inland Revenue Department and receiving a stamp certificate in return. It does not register the lease, it does not make an otherwise defective agreement valid, and it gives neither side any right it did not already have. What it does is make the document usable: an unstamped tenancy agreement is not admissible as evidence in civil proceedings, so whoever needs to rely on the lease in a dispute is the person stamping protects.
Who pays, and by when
The Stamp Duty Ordinance makes the landlord, the tenant and any agent jointly liable, so the agreement itself normally says how the cost is split — half each is the usual arrangement. The deadline is 30 days from the date the lease is signed. Note that it runs from signature, not from the day the term starts, and not from any demand: the Inland Revenue Department does not have to ask you before the clock starts.
What late stamping costs
Penalties are multiples of the duty itself rather than a flat fee, and they escalate with delay: up to one month late, double the duty; over one month and up to two, four times; beyond two months, up to ten times. On a two-year lease at HK$20,000 a month the duty is HK$2,400 — the same document left for three months can be assessed at HK$24,000. The Inland Revenue Department may remit a penalty where there is a reasonable excuse, but that is a discretion, not an entitlement.
How to stamp
Either online through the Inland Revenue Department's e-Stamping service, which issues a stamp certificate you print and keep with the agreement, or in person at the Stamp Office with the agreement and payment. An agent can do it on your behalf; the liability stays joint either way. Keep the certificate with the lease — it is what you produce if the tenancy is ever disputed.
Fixed term or not, and why it changes the sum
A fixed-term lease has a total rent, so the duty is a percentage of that total and the percentage depends on how long the term is. A lease with no fixed term has no total to charge against, so duty is instead 0.25% of the average yearly rent. Where a lease runs for a fixed period and then continues on a rolling basis, it is the fixed period the calculator above prices; confirm the assessment with the Inland Revenue Department where the structure is unusual.
Rent-free periods, premiums and deposits
A rent-free period, a key-money premium, or rent that steps up from year to year all change the amount assessed, and none of them are inputs here. A security deposit is not rent and does not attract duty. Where any of these apply, read the figure above as a floor rather than an answer, and confirm the assessment before you pay.
