TNAG-1362-FCO40-1808-Hong-Kong-Hansard-reports-and-minutes-of-the-meetings-of-the-1985 — Page 88

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have to pay.

Their exclusion from Part II would transfer

them to Part IV which provides for security of tenure at

prevailing market rents.

It is proposed that the old rateable values, that

is those as at 10th June 1983 and not those introduced in

April 1984, should apply in this Bill. This is because the

old values provide a consistent valuation basis, readily

understood by all concerned, both landlords and tenants.

Furthermore, from a practical point of view, it would be

difficult to move to the current rateable value list since

there are still a large number of appeals against the new

rateable values which remain unsettled.

For other post-war tenancies, in order to prevent

exceptionally low controlled rents from falling even further

below market levels, it is proposed to raise the minimum percentage component in the rent increase mechanism in

Part II from 45% to 55%.

19th December this year.

This would also take effect from

If this proposal is accepted, some 26,000 low-

rent tenancies (ie 24% of the 107,000 protected tenancies)

would be subject to rent increases which could bring their

rents up to 55% of the market level. The average monthly

increase for them would be about $536 or 48% of their current

rent. But these tenants are presently paying somewhat low

rents below 43% of prevailing market rents. Even with the

increase, they would continue to pay significantly less than

new tenants for comparable premises. For the remaining 76%

of the protected tenancies, their permitted rent increases would continue to be determined by the existing rule permit-

ting a 30% maximum biennial increase on current rent.

/As for