XN000022-1992-10-19 — Page 8

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1992

OF

SLIGHTLY FASTER RATE IF THE BILL IS ENACTED

AND HE WAS OF THE OPINION THAT THE INCREASE IN PART II RENTS WHICH WILL OCCUR WILL NOT AFFECT GENERAL MARKET RENTAL VALUES.

TENURE BEING

FURTHERMORE, TENANTS WILL RETAIN THEIR SECURITY OP ALTHOUGH THE RENTS WILL BE INCREASED ΤΟ THE LEVEL CURRENTLY OBTAINED FOR OTHER SIMILAR FLATS ALREADY SUBJECT TO PART TV OF THE ORDINANCE.

TURNING TO A SURVEY RECENTLY CONDUCTED BY HIS DEPARTMENT, MR WOODROFFE REITERATED THAT IT WAS COMPREHENSIVE.

"QUESTIONAIRES WERE SENT OUT TO ALL PART II CASES AND 18,590

REPLIES WERE ANALYSED.

"A RANDOM SAMPLE TEST WAS ALSO CARRIED OUT ON NON-RESPONSE CASES WHICH REINFORCED OUR VIEWS THAT THE POLL WAS ROBUST AND RELIABLE, HE ADDED.

+

THE SURVEY, HE SAID, INDICATED THAT THE NUMBER OF PART [I TENANCIES HAD DROPPED SINCE THE PREVIOUS FIGURES RELEASED IN OCTOBER LAST YEAR.

LATEST FIGURES SHOW THAT THERE ARE AT PRESENT ONLY 32,414 PART II FLATS WITH 48,500 HOUSEHOLDS ACCOMMODATING ABOUT 144,000 PEOPLE.

AND THE AVERAGE CONTROLLED RENTS FOR THESE PREMISES IS $3,344 AS AGAINST THE AVERAGE MARKET VALUE OF $5,330.

PART

II. MR WOODROFFE

AS FOR BED-SPACE TENANTS PROTECTED BY SAID THEY NUMBERED ONLY 2,100 AND WERE PAYING AN AVERAGE RENT OF $279 AGAINST THE PREVAILING RENT OF $412.

THE NUMBER OF BEDROOMS/CUBICLES PROTECTED BY PART II IS ABOUT 10,000 FOR WHICH THE AVERAGE RENT WAS $874 ALTHOUGH THE PREVAILING RENT WAS $1,128.

AS FAR AS THESE TENANCIES ARE CONCERNED, MR WOODROFFE BELIEVED THAT THE INCREASES IN 1993 $81 FOR BED SPACES AND $241 FOR BEDROOMS/ CUBICLES WOULD HAVE LITTLE OR NO EFFECT ON THE TENANTS.

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THIS IS BECAUSE THE RENT INCREASE WILL GENERALLY BE THE SAME EVEN IF THE BILL IS NOT PASSED, MR WOODROFFE POINTED OUT.

IN 1994, EVEN IF THE BILL IS ENACTED, THE INCREASE SPACES WILL BE $118 INSTEAD OF $83 A MONTH OR JUST $35 EXTRA.

FOR BED

"THIS CONTRASTS WITH THE FINDINGS OF THE SURVEYS BY CONCERNED GROUPS WHICH INDICATED A FAR WIDER DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CURRENT CONTROLLED RENTS AND MARKET RENTS.

"ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT POINT ESTABLISHED IS THAT BED-SPACE TENANTS CURRENTLY PAY ON AVERAGE ONLY 7.3 PER CENT OF THEIR INCOME ON RENT WHICH MAY RISE TO ABOUT 9.4 PER CENT IN 1993.

/"THIS COMPARES