Registrar-Generals-Department-Annual-report-1966-1967 — Page 18

is obtained in the case of subdivided multi-storey buildings, the existing subdivision registers relating to such buildings are being dealt with first, and by 31st March 1967 the records in 87 out of the 198 subdivision registers had been transferred to cards. At the same time damaged folios in the old registers relating to lots, sections and sub- sections owned as single entities are being replaced by cards, which not only eliminates the need for the damaged folios to be repaired by the bookbinder but also reduces the number of folios which will ultimately have to be converted to cards when the old registers are dealt with on a systematic programme.

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 49,582 instruments registered in 1966-67, 14,113 (28.5%) were 'stopped' for the correction of a total of 20,487 errors, which fell into the following categories:

Omission of dates/Memorial Nos./Chinese characters Incorrect spelling of words/typing errors Incorrect description of parcels

Stopped because of errors found in connected instrument Authentication of amendments/deletions/additions required

6,068

5,496

4,448

1,187

571

Incorrect/insufficient description of parties

Incorrect/insufficient execution

Incorrect/insufficient registration fee

Incorrect/insufficient description of plan

528

460

341

282

Incorrect/insufficient description of consideration

273

Incorrect/insufficient information on partition

199

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Incorrect/insufficient stamp duty

180

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Incorrect/insufficient description of Crown rent

65

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

instrument

310

79

Total

20,487

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 for each record produced, but where more than one hundred records

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