nett decrease of 12,000 ground and rooftop squatters. The activities of the strengthened squatter control sub-division resulted in 20% more new structures and extensions being discovered and demolished com- pared with the previous year in spite of reduced pressure on new squatting. By the end of the year, about half a million people were, however, still living in tolerated squatter huts or squatter boats and 87,000 in resite areas. The department accommodated 21,000 people in these resite areas during the year compared with over 50,000 in 1964-65. One measure of the success of the Rent Advance Scheme is the decreasc to 2,400 in the number of persons resited from dangerous buildings, which is less than one-tenth of the previous year's figure. The majority of those offered resites this year were persons who had become homeless as a result of natural disasters, clearance of their rooftop structures from demolished tenements, or because of action against their illegal structures taken by the department's demolition teams.
19. Rents for domestic rooms in Mark I/II blocks had not been increased since they were first fixed in 1954. The 1964 White Paper laid down that they should be reappraised to take account of rates, increased costs of maintenance and administration, and the doubling of water charges throughout the Colony. Rent increases for domestic rooms in Mark I/II blocks were introduced in two stages: in July 1965 to cover increased water charges, and in November to cover the other factors. This exercise resulted in the total rent, including water charges, for domestic rooms being increased by about 15%. Even so, these rents compare very favourably with those for the equivalent amount of space in private buildings and their introduction passed off without incident. Rents for Mark IV blocks, which first came into use during the year, were also fixed.
20. On 12th August, 1965 His Excellency the Governor officially opened Tsz Wan Shan Estate which, with an eventual population of 170,000 persons, is the largest estate planned so far. In his speech, the Governor emphasized the increasing impact of resettlement on the Colony and mentioned that which the next ten years over half the population of the Colony may well be living in such estates.
21. As foreshadowed in the 1964 White Paper, His Excellency the Governor appointed a Housing Board in June 1965 with the following terms of reference:
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