:
Crown Leases
10. 224 Crown Leases were issued during the year as follows:
Hong Kong Island:
Inland Lots, Hong Kong
Rural Building Lots
Kowloon:
Kowloon Inland Lots
New Kowloon :
New Kowloon Inland Lots
Grand Total
147
3
150
59
15
224
Table I shows the numbers of Crown Leases issued annually since 1949/50.
Surrenders of Crown Land
11. 193 Deeds of Surrender comprising 234 lots or sections of lots were prepared and put through by the Land Office, the total amount paid by the Government in respect thereof being $1,556,634.48. This included payments of $227,387.48 and $696,445 for land required for road widening schemes at the junction of Wyndham Street and Glenealy and at Caroline Hill Road respectively.
Safe Custody of Deeds, Wills, Etc.
12. Under Section 22 of the Land Registration Ordinance deeds, wills, etc., may be deposited in the Land Office for safe custody. A fee of $15 is normally payable in respect of each document so deposited, but where two or more instruments relate to the same property, the charge is $15 for the first instrument and $2 for each additional instrument. There were during the year thirty eight deposits of deeds, etc., for safe custody under the Ordinance.
Crown Rents
13. Tables IV and V give details of the numbers of lots on the Principal and Village Rent Rolls. The number of lots on the Principal Rent Roll has increased by 1,823 to 18,852, and the total Crown Rent by about $97,000 to $1,753,180.32. The increases of 310 Inland Lots, 820 Kowloon Inland Lots and 494 New Kowloon Inland Lots are for the most part due to the splitting up of several large lots into separate house sites, for each of which a new lot number has been given. By arrangement with the Treasury the Land Office has as from January
4
Page 10Page 11