Government
facilities for
housing employees.
Employees
of European Firms.
British
employees in Naval Yard,
Housing of
Government
Servants,
General cheap sale of Crown land, with
restrictions,
* 26. We recommend that the Government should sell land cheap and without auction to large employers of workmen for the sole purpose of housing their employees, with a condition for the forfeiture of the land to the Government if the premises are used for other purposes.
27. In this connection we invite attention to the circular dated the 27th April, 1923, which we have addressed, with the approval of the Government, to certain European firms on the subject of the housing of their employees, and From the latter it will be seen the answers received thereto (Enclosure 2).
that a large number of firms have signified their readiness to assist, if afforded proper facilities by the Government.
28. Whilst on the subject of housing employees we desire to refer to the serious inadequacy of the accommodation at present provided by the We have had the Admiralty for the employees of His Majesty's Naval Yard. opportunity of taking full statements, which
this report (Enclosure 8(1)), from four of such employees. That evidence shows--
gecompany
(1) That the Admiralty provide quarters for only a comparatively
small number of the employees in the Naval Yard.
(2) That under a 3 years agreement, which expired on the 31st July, 1923, the Hongkong Government allowed Dockyard employees to occupy & houses in Happy Valley with two floors to each house, but that such quarters were required by the Hongkong Government to be handed back for the housing of Civil Servants on the expiration of such agreement, thereby accentuating the housing difficulty for Dockyard employees referred to in (3), and compelling them to live over in Kowloon.
(3) That it is impracticable, under the present conditions of housing shortage prevailing in Hongkong, for British married Dockyard employees, apart from those referred to in paragraplı (1) supra, and those housed in Togo Terrace, Kennedy Roul, and in a few other favourable localities, to obtain decent accommodation near their work at a rent which is reasonable, having regard to their income and their house allowance.
(4) That in Gibraltar where there is a larger Dockyard staff than in Hongkong, the Admiralty, as far back as 1907, built quarters for their Dockyard employees, both single and married.
* 29. We recommend that the Admiralty should cumlate the example of the Hongkong Government and the Military Authorities and the Gibraltar precedent by providing ample house accommodation for the employees of the Naval Yard, many of whom are now being driven, from sheer force of circumstances, across the Harbour to Kowloon, to an inconvenient distance from their work, and are incidentally competing with permanent civilian residents for available European accommodation at Kowloon.
* 30. We would also commend to the favourable consideration of the Government the question of building houses for accommodating Government servants of all races and grades, charging them a reasonable rent.
* 31. In addition to selling land cheap for erecting houses thereon for accommodating employees, we recommend that the Government should also sell land cheap, without auction, and subject to certain restrictions hereinafter mentioned, to encourage the erection of more houses for accommodating diffe- rent classes of the community at reasonable rents. There can be no doubt that the cost of Crown land is the most serious factor in connection with the cost of building in the Colony, because obviously the high cost of land inevi- tably entails both dear buildings and high rents, which tends to hold back building development, (see Mr. White's evidence at page 15 in Enclosure 8 (3)).
* 32. What, then, is the remedy? It is obviously of no advantage to the community for the Government simply to give away land cheap to applicants unless some conditions are imposed in return by the Government for the benefit of the community, because that would simply amount to giving a present to the applicant; and would not even enure for the benefit of the tenant, because the former would naturally charge the tenant as much as he could get out of him according to the conditions of supply and demand pre- vailing at the time. We therefore recommend that (apart from special cases such as the free grant of land for erecting some deserving institution, or a cheap grant of land for the sole purpose of occupation by employees or cases under paragraphs 45 and 46) the Government do not sell land without auction below its market value, except subject to the following special conditions which are intended to serve the double purpose of preventing speculation in land, and protecting the pocket of the tenant. See also para. 35,
*33. The conditions which we recommend should be inserted in the conditions of sale of all land sold without auction apart from the special cases above referred to) are as follows:-
(1) That, to prevent speculation in building sites, the purchaser of the lot must covenant to perform the building covenant himself. (2) That failure to carry out punctually such convenant shall in every case, except where a good excuse is shown to the satisfaction of the Governor in Council, involve forfeiture of the land, and re-entry thereon by the Government, without payment of compensation.
(3) That such original purchaser shall have no power to resell or alienate in any way until after the expiration of 7 years from the late when the buildings to be erected on the lot have been com- pleted and certified fit for occupation.
(4) That the rental to be charged by the original purchaser of the land to the tenant shall not be greater than will return to such purchaser a a net 8% on his capital outlay.
Under these conditions of sale, an investor in land receives 8% interest for his money with the prospect, if the Colony continues to expand, of making, a profit at the end of the above term of years; whilst, at the same time, the tenant is protected for the same period from having to pay more than a certain standard of rent.
34. We consider the above conditions (3) and (4) to be vital, because, if the Government permits new houses to be built on cheap land, without restrictions both as to alienation and as to rental, we shall in reality be catering largely for the refugees who can afford to pay high rents, and shall be working against the interests of those classes who obviously require cheap houses, namely, the British, Portuguese and Chinese residents of limited means, and the Chinese working classes.
* 35. Accordingly, we think that apart from the special cases men- tioned in paragraphs 24, 26, 36, 45, 46, 96 and 124) the Government has no right to grant land either free or cheap without receiving a definite compen- sating advantage in the shape of a covenant against resale within a certain period, and a limitation of the rent to be charged.
* 36. There is another scheme for encouraging the building of more dwelling-houses on new sites, namely, the scheme outlined by the Honourable Acting Colonial Secretary in the Legislative Council. This scheme bas attractions for people with speculative instincts. Though it is to be free from the above condition 3 in paragraph 33 supra, and, as soon as the property is sold, from condition 4, it is useful from the point of view of encouraging the erection of more houses on new sites, on the snowball principle. Subject, therefore, to the application to it of the above-mentioned conditions 1 and 2, and to the premia being fixed at market value, we think that the scheme may be tried simultaneously with that recommended by us in paragraphs 31 to 34,
Conditions for selling land cheap without
Auction.
Conditions (3) and (4) vital,
Government only to grant land free or cheap against compensating advantage.
Mr. Fletcher's scheme for encouraging building.
362
E
Į