LAND AND HOUSING
Group 'A' Estates
99
At the end of 1973, the population at the 26 group 'A' public housing estates was 564,545. Domestic flats of this type are mostly self-contained with a private balcony, kitchen and toilet with a water closet and shower, although in some older estates tenants of two units have to share a toilet. Estates have shops, market stalls, schools, medical clinics, recreational areas and playgrounds and many have community
rooms.
The applications section of the Housing Department keeps a waiting list from which eligible families are chosen to fill vacancies in public housing estates. By the end of 1973, 38,545 applications had been passed for allocation, 114,186 rejected or withdrawn and 99,216 were waiting for investigation.
The Housing Department also manages Lung Cheung Court, a local government housing scheme planned by the former housing division and financed by the govern- ment for sale to civil servants. Another estate of the same type is being built at Ngok Yue Shan, Kwun Tong. Rents in group 'A' estates range from $51 a month for a six person flat to $249 a month for a 13 person flat.
To be eligible for one of these flats an applicant must have a family of at least four people and a monthly family income within limits set by the Housing Authority. The maximum qualifying income for a family of 10 or more was raised in September 1973 from $1,250 to $2,000 with a lower ceiling for smaller families. The limit for a family of four was raised from $500 to $1,400.
Group 'B' Estates
This type of public housing is allocated by a system of priorities. As in the past people made homeless in emergency circumstances and squatters who are cleared from a site needed for development are at the top of the list.
Rents in these estates have been fixed at the lowest possible level, with the aim of recovering the capital cost over 40 years plus annually recurrent expenditure, including the cost of administration and management. Rent for a standard 120 square feet room in a mark I or mark II block is $18 a month. That for a mark VI standard room of 140 square feet is $38 a month. Since 1954 the government has built more than 520 group 'B' type blocks in 25 estates with accommodation for 1.2 million people.
Another 47,000 people are housed in 14 cottage areas, many built by voluntary agencies and later handed over to the government for management. Many 'B' estates are virtual townships, with shops, clinics and nurseries. The largest, Tsz Wan Shan, houses more than 145,000 people.
One of the objectives of the new Housing Authority is to improve the environ- ment of many of the older estates and bring the level of management into line with that on the group 'A' estates. A caretaker system, which has proved essential for good management, is being expanded and will eventually cover all former mark III to VI resettlement blocks. Lighting in public areas has been improved and in the old mark I and II blocks, daytime lighting is provided in the communal bathrooms and