A seller should save the exact property description supplied for the transaction, together with every floor-plan sheet and attachment received. Keep the original file or image, and retain any marked-up, corrected, or replacement version alongside it. This is a practical handover recommendation; the cited sources do not establish one universal checklist for what must be kept.
The Estate Agents Authority states that the particulars of the property will be set out in the formal agreement. The Hong Kong Land Registry explains that particulars of deeds or other documents affecting a property lodged for registration are entered on the land register. These are distinct records: a floor plan should be preserved as transaction material, but neither source says that every plan is included in the agreement or the land register.
What to save
- The complete property description: Save all pages and attachments, including qualifications, notes, or markings that appear.
- The complete floor-plan set: Keep every sheet, inset, legend, and related schedule supplied with it. Preserve labels, dimensions, and revision details where shown.
- The received version: Retain a readable copy of the file or image actually supplied, rather than only a summary or cropped view.
- Later changes: If a corrected, annotated, or replacement description or plan is received, keep it with the original and with the communication that accompanied it.
How to check the copies
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Compare with the formal agreement. Match the description and plan against the property particulars set out in the formal agreement. The Estate Agents Authority identifies the formal agreement as the document containing those particulars, but the cited material does not provide a field-by-field checklist for floor-plan details.
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Compare the documents with each other. Check the address or other property identifier, room labels, layout, dimensions, boundaries, orientation, and annotations that are actually shown. Record any mismatch instead of assuming which version is correct. The cited sources do not decide a discrepancy or state that a floor plan has the same legal effect as the formal agreement.
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Check the Land Registry separately. Review the particulars entered for registered deeds or other documents affecting the property. The cited Land Registry description does not state that the full floor plan will appear in the register, so that record should not be treated as a substitute for the saved plan.
What the reader must still confirm
The saved file is not necessarily complete until the reader confirms:
- which description and plan version was supplied for the transaction;
- whether the property particulars in the formal agreement match the saved documents;
- whether a revised, annotated, or replacement plan was issued;
- whether the relevant Land Registry record contains additional particulars affecting the property; and
- whether a transaction-specific retention period, file format, or other handling instruction applies.
Neither cited source states a mandatory retention period, a required number of copies, a prescribed file format, or a general rule about the legal status of floor plans. Those points must be checked against the actual transaction documents and are not resolved by the two cited sources.