96
LAND AND HOUSING
comprehensive inspections of buildings under construction to be made. This move was intended to complement but not usurp the functions of the authorised architects. Little control could be exercised over unauthorised building works and changes of use in occupied buildings during the year because of lack of staff, but plans are being made to revive the Control and Enforcement Section of the Buildings Ordinance Office recommended by the Committee of Inquiry.
With land values continuing to rise sharply, developers are loath to construct buildings which represent something less than the maximum permitted by building legislation. This has led to complaints of poor layout and appearance arising from the lack of control over the design or visual effect of buildings in Hong Kong. While opinion may be divided upon its merits, the 52-storey Connaught Centre will certainly be an outstanding addition to the Central waterfront when completed and by the end of the year 42 storeys had been-constructed, with the first phase opened and occupied. The skyline of the Peak was transformed by the Peak Tower which opened in August, a conspicuous tourist attraction at the top of the funicular railway provid- ing panoramic views to the north and south of the Island. A number of hotels were under construction during the year, notably the 35-storey Furama Hotel near the City Hall. The 34-storey Excelsior Hotel, located near the entrance to the cross-harbour tunnel in Causeway Bay, opened at the end of the year. The first berth of a container terminal at Kwai Chung opened in September, and is now handling massive 950-foot 'third generation' containerships. Two other berths at Kwai Chung were in an ad- vanced stage of construction at the end of the year.
Rent Control
Legislation controlling rents and providing security of tenure was instituted by proclamation immediately after the war and was later embodied in the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance in 1947. It applied to both domestic and business premises and restricted rents by reference to pre-war levels, while excluding new and substantially reconstructed buildings from control. Following an amendment in 1953, permitted increases in standard rents were raised to 55 per cent for domestic premises and 150 per cent for business premises, at which level they have remained ever since.
There is provision in the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance for the exclusion of premises where redevelopment is intended. Such exclusions are made on the recommendation of a tenancy tribunal by order of the Governor, or of the Governor in Council in the case of an appeal. The payment of compensation to tenants dis- possessed is almost invariably a condition to the grant of an exclusion order. During 1972 there were 202 such orders approved, involving 483 buildings. An amendment in 1968 provided that, subject to the agreement being certified by the Secretariat for Home Affairs, a tenant may accept compensation from his landlord in return for delivering up vacant possession of his premises; 1,087 agreements under this provision were certified during 1972.
The 1953 amending legislation also provided for the establishment as part of the Secretariat for Home Affairs of two tenancy enquiry bureaux, one in Hong Kong