No_4_December_1964 — Page 99

Government Acts:

AID FOR

FOR TENANTS EVACUATED FROM

DANGEROUS

THE Hong Kong Government

last month started issuing inter- est-free advances to needy tenants who have to move from dangerous prewar buildings closed or about to be closed by the Building Authority (see last issue of "The Builder").

re-

The advance scheme has been de- signed as an urgent measure to lieve hardship, and will be adminis- tered by the Secretary for Chinese Affairs.

Advances will only be made to oc- cupants of protected buildings which will be declared dangerous and closed by the Building Authority.

Calculations

The amount of the interest-free ad- vance will generally be calculated ac- cording to the number of persons in each family living in the building as well as the amount of compensation which each tenant is likely to be awarded by a tenancy tribunal for the loss of his domestic accommoda- tion.

The purpose of the advance scheme is to assist needy tenants actually re- siding in the dangerous building to find an alternative place to live. The Secretary for Chinese Affairs will have absolute discretion in approving or rejecting any application.

SQUATTERS AND RESETTLEMENTS

(From opposite page)

our own goal of solving the seeming- ly continuous squatter problem, and we may tend, like the mountaineer, to forget or to discount the striking and conspicuous progress we have already made.

them-

"The statistics speak for selves: by the 31st July this year 575,000 people resettled in 294 multi- storey blocks in 17 estates; 81,000 people resettled in 14 cottage areas; 26,500 people living in 42 Govern- ment low-cost housing blocks; average building rate of 24 multi- storey resettlement blocks completed

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BUILDINGS

The amount payable to any one tenant will be determinted by the Secretary for Chinese Affairs and in no case will it exceed 50 per cent of the compensation which, in the opinion of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, the tenant can expect to be awarded by the tenancy tribunal.

Repayment

The repayment will be made from the compensation, if any, which the owner of the property may be liable to pay to his tenants, and the tenant will eventually receive the compensa- tion awarded by the tenancy tribunal less the sum previously advanced to him by Government.

Applications for advances should be made in person to the Tenancy Inquiry Bureau of the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs which is situated on the mezzanine floor of Printing House, No. 6, Duddell Street, in the Central District.

Payment will be made to approved applicants before their building is closed, provided that the Building Authority has posted a Notice of Intention under the Buildings Ordin- ance, No. 68 of 1955 declaring the entire building to be in a dangerous state and giving no less than seven days notice before an application is made by the Building Authority to a Magistrate for a Closure Order.

every month; a total capital expendi- ture so far on all this work of about $400 million: 93 further resettlement blocks and 14 further low-cost hous- ing blocks providing space for a further 330,000 people, now under construction; a Resettlement Depart- ment whose recurrent expenditure on the management of resettlement es- tates has risen from virtually ni in 1954 to $12 million in 1964, with the percentage of resettlement rents that cannot be collected running at present rate of .002% of an annual rent roll of some $25 million.

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"Much success has been achieved, but the problem has not receded. On the contrary the Working Party's

THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER-VOLUME 19, NUMBER 4

Prompt Payment

In the case of an emergency closure of a prewar building, it is not possible for the Tenancy Inquiry Bureau to make advances before the tenants move out. However, every effort will be made to pay advances to needy tenants within a few days.

A spokesman for the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs explained that the tenants of a dangerous prewar build- ing will be given an appointment to call at the Tenancy Inquiry Bureau. either before the building is closed or, in the case of an emergency closure, as soon as possible after the closure.

"When calling at the Tenancy In- quiry Bureau, the tenant should bring with him all relevant documents, such as identity cards, rent receipts and birth certificates of his children or his dependents, if any," he added.

When an application for an ad- vance is approved by the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, the tenant is then required to sign a form (in triplicate) acknowledging the receipt of the advance made to him and also assign- ing to Government a portion of the compensation likely to be awarded to him by a tenancy tribunal and pay- able by his former landlord. This portion will be equal to the amount which is being advanced to him by Government.

report has drawn attention to new circumstances and influences bearing on the problem, adding to the diffi- culties and increasing its complexity.

"The new policies contained in this paper stem from a realistic appraisal of current methods and policies. They recognise the extent to which the squatter problem has intensified in recent years, and they call for even greater efforts.

"The building programmes fore- shadowed represent a colossal output of physical and financial resources, and it is impossible to predict with certainty whether, in the years ahead, it will be possible to sustain the effort required.

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