HOUSING AND LAND
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building in multiple ownership to incorporate themselves and appoint a committee for the better management of their building, particularly to ensure its maintenance and to uphold environmental standards. By the end of 1982, there were 2 092 owners' corporations in existence.
The district offices of the City and New Territories Administration offer assistance and advice to owners and tenants in forming owners' corporations and mutual aid committees. By the end of 1982, the district offices had assisted in forming a total of 4925 such building organisations, of which 3 704 were mutual aid committees. Mutual aid committees have aims similar to owners' corporations, but they are not statutory incorporated bodies or legal entities in themselves. Membership is open to all residents of a particular building.
A working party, on which relevant government departments were represented, was set up in 1982 to study the effectiveness of existing policies governing the management of private residential buildings. The working party met regularly during the year to examine the problems of management in multi-storey buildings and in working out strategies to tackle them.
Rent Control
Statutory controls on rents in Hong Kong date back to 1921 but since 1973 all such legis- lation has been consolidated under the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance. An overall re-examination of this legislation was conducted by a Committee of Review in 1980. One of the recommendations of its report, published in May 1981, was that as soon as circumstances permit, rent control should be phased out. This recommendation was endorsed in principle by the government as a long-term objective.
Rent Control of Pre-war Premises
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Legislation controlling rents of pre-war premises and providing security of tenure was instituted by proclamation immediately after World War II and was later embodied in 1947 in the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance since re-enacted as Part I of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance. This legislation applies to both domestic and business premises and restricts rents by reference to pre-war levels (standard rent), while excluding from control new or substantially reconstructed buildings. Provision, however, has been made for the de-control of pre-war business premises from July 1, 1984.
Increases in rents are permitted periodically, the latest being in May 1982, when the legislation was amended to provide for permitted rents to be 12 times the standard rent in the case of domestic premises and 27 times for business premises. In neither case is the permitted rent to exceed the fair market rent. There are provisions for the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation to certify the user of premises, their standard rent and their fair market rent.
There is provision in the legislation for the exclusion from control of premises for the purpose of redevelopment, and generally possession is subject to the payment of compensation to the protected tenants. The Tenancy Tribunal, which had hitherto exercised jurisdiction under Part I of the ordinance to make exclusion orders and to deal with disputes in tenancy matters, ceased to exist on June 11, 1982. From this date its judicial powers were transferred to the Lands Tribunal and its technical functions to the Com- missioner of Rating and Valuation. The abolition of the Tenancy Tribunal was a further move towards making the Lands Tribunal the sole forum for adjudicating landlord and
tenant matters.