Registrar-Generals-Department-Annual-report-1965-1966 — Page 16

29. The new system has proved to be a great success, being much more economical in time and space and greatly facilitating searches against particular flats. Formerly identical opening entries had to be made by hand on as many folios of a sub-division register as there were units in the building, a most time-consuming process. Now, these entries can

can be reproduced by means of a duplicator on any number of cards, eliminating both the need to write each entry and the need to check anything except the master copy. So successful has the system been that the existing sub-division registers are being gradually replaced by cards, and it is intended ultimately to transfer all the remaining registers to cards.

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30. Every instrument presented for registration in the Land Office, together with the memorial thereof, is scrutinized prior to its registra- tion. Where any error is discovered in any instrument or memorial, the instrument is 'stopped' and returned for correction to the solicitor certifying the memorial. Of the 44,857 instruments registered in 1965-66, 14,953 (33.3%) were 'stopped' for the correction of a total of 16,239 errors, which fell into the following categories:

Incorrect spelling of words/typing errors Incorrect description of parcels

4,731

4,720

Omission of dates/Memorial Nos./Chinese characters

3,471

Stopped because of errors found in connected instrument

1,044

Authentication of amendments/deletions/additions required

628

Incorrect/insufficient execution

345

Incorrect/insufficient description of plan

321

Incorrect/insufficient registration fee

219

Incorrect/insufficient description of parties

163

Incorrect/insufficient information on partition

162

Incorrect/insufficient description of consideration

152

Incorrect/insufficient description of Crown Rent

97

Incorrect/insufficient stamp duty.

Suggestion by Land Office for improvement of instrument Land Officer's consent required for registration of

instrument

20

78

90

18

Total

16,239

Searches

31. An essential preliminary to every land transaction is a search in the land registers to ascertain who is registered as the owner of the property and what, if any, incumbrances are registered against it. Under the Land Registration Fees Regulations, a fee of $1 is payable

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