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Wednesday, March 28, 1973
NEW RENT CONTROL PROPOSALS EXPECTED SOON
Examination Of Rent Situation Nearly Complete
The Colonial Secretary, Sir Hugh Norman-Walker, said today that
the task of examining the whole field of domestic rents was "nearing completion"
and he hoped to be able to put proposals before the Executive Council very
shortly.
Sir Hugh Norman-Walker was speaking in the resumed Budget debate
in the Legislative Council.
He said that while the examination of the problem of rents would
take a considerable time, he had every confidence that the information necessary
for a decision by the Governor in Council would be ready well before the
expiry of the present legislation in 1974.
Referring to his recommendation, the Colonial Secretary said its
objective will be "general measures of restraint."
It would, he hoped, avoid the "disadvantages of a stop-go policy
of rent control" and would not at the same time act as a "disincentive to
our property developers".
"In short," he said, "what is required is a bridging operation over
the period until the forces of supply and demand can operate naturally."
He referred to a suggestion by the Hon. P.C. Woo that the key to a
solution to the problem of rising rents was to speed up land sales.
He said the provision of more land for private housing development would
undoubtedly help, but there was a limit to what could be done in the short term.
/Sir Hugh
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