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HOUSING
which will not be cleared within three years. In addition to safety and environmental improvement measures provided in squatter areas, a stepped-up programme was started to install 600 street lights in 40 smaller squatter areas. A total of 286 street lights installed in other squatter areas by district boards have been taken over by the Housing Department for management and maintenance. In addition, improvement works continued in a few selected squatter areas in the New Territories under a pilot scheme.
As the improvement programme entered its final year, a review was conducted and approval given to extend the programme for a further two years to smaller squatter areas, each with a population of not less than 300 people, in order to benefit an additional 19 300 squatters.
Squatter Clearance
During the year, 320 hectares of land were cleared for development, resulting in 18 000 people being allocated permanent housing and 13 900 temporary housing. Some 1430 industrial, commercial and agricultural undertakings affected by clearances were given ex-gratia allowances. In addition, a total of 3 100 people rendered homeless as a result of fires and landslips were provided with permanent or temporary accommodation.
Kowloon Walled City Clearance
A Special Duties Division was formed in early 1987 to undertake the clearance of the Kowloon Walled City. Following an announcement by the government on January 14, 1987, a pre-clearance survey was carried out to assess and freeze the clearance commitment. Some 32 000 people and 1 050 commercial undertakings were identified during the survey. The clearance will take about three years to complete and the site will then be developed into a public park by the Urban Council.
Management of Private Residential Buildings in Multiple Ownership Privately owned buildings constitute more than half of the territory's housing stock and accommodate about half of the population. Most of these buildings are high-rise blocks which are held by a number of owners who may or may not be residents of the building.
The nature of ownership of these buildings, combined with other factors, has resulted in a situation over the years where the management of some private properties has deteriorated.
Although the management of privately owned buildings is the responsibility of property owners, the consequences of consistent neglect are of serious concern to the government.
The government is, therefore, taking steps to provide a better legal and administrative framework to enable those concerned to manage their properties more effectively.
Work is in hand to amend the Multi-Storey Buildings (Owners Incorporation) Ordinance to make it easier to form owners' corporations. Such corporations act in the interests of individual owners regarding their rights, power, duties and liabilities in relation to those parts of a building held in common ownership. Although the existence of an owners' corporation does not guarantee good management of a building, it has been found from experience that management standards in buildings which have owners' corporations have generally been better than in cases where no comparable management body exists.
There will also be other amendments dealing with management standards and proce- dures. These clauses define more clearly the powers and responsibilities of the corporations' management committees.