Governor. Seventeen such licences were granted during the year,
fifteen to religious bodies for miscellaneous religious purposes and non-profit making schools, one to Chung Chi College for educational purposes, and one to a women's club for its club premises. Ten were in respect of flats or floors in buildings, three in respect of lots in urban areas totalling 12,901 sq. ft. and four in respect of lots in the New Territories totalling approximately 312,400 sq. ft.
Card Index of Owners and Mortgagees
19. Besides complete card indexes to all lots and sections of lots, the Land Office maintains an index, not open to the public, of all persons registered as the owner or mortgagee of land in the Colony. According to this the number of landowners (excluding mortgagees) rose by 6,876 during the year to a total of 54,802 on 31st March, 1961. Many of these own several properties, many simply a small undivided share in a property coupled with the right to a flat as described in paragraph 10 above.
Safe Custody of Deeds, Wills, Etc.
20. Under Section 22 of the Land Registration Ordinance deeds, wills, etc., may be deposited in the Land Office for safe custody. A fee of $15.00 is normally payable in respect of each document so deposited, but where two or more instruments relate to the same property the charge is $15.00 for the first instrument and $2.00 for each additional instrument. Thirteen deposits were made during the year.
Crown Rents
21. Tables V and VI give details of the numbers of lots on the Principal and Village Rent Rolls. The number of lots on the Principal Rent Roll has increased by 470 to 20,441, and the total Crown rent by $52,000 to $2,250,318. The increases of 175 Inland Lots, 65 Marine Lots, 85 Kowloon Inland Lots and 94 New Kowloon Inland Lots are for the most part due to the splitting up of large lots into separate house sites, for each of which a new lot number has been given. The only other notable increase is in Kwun Tong Inland Lots, the number of which has risen by 40 to 135.
22. The number of lots on the Village Rent Roll continues to dwindle, the total of 1,321 being three less than last year. The total of the rents as at 31st March, 1961 was only $1,067.10. Most of the rents are trifling sums of under $1, and in order to reduce the cost of collec-
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