Registrar-Generals-Department-Annual-report-1966-1967 — Page 29

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Liaison with Legal Profession

62. From time to time the Land Office issues Circular Memoranda to all Solicitors on matters of land policy and Land Office practice. During the year two such Memoranda, being Nos. 29 and 30 in the series, were issued. New Solicitors are supplied with back numbers on request.

Crown Rents

63. Tables VII and VIII give details of the numbers of lots on the Principal and Village Rent Rolls. The number of lots on the Principal Rent Roll increased by 165 to 23,305 and the total Crown rent by $144,597 to $4,016,564.

64. The number of lots on the Village Rent Roll continued to dwindle, the total of 1,264 being 30 less than last year. The remaining lots produce only $1,010 per annum, most of the rents being less than $1. In order to reduce the cost of collection, Demand Notes for rents of less than $5 per annum are now issued every five years instead of annually. The last five-yearly collection was for the five years ending 30th September 1964.

65. The Crown rents of 358 sections of lots were determined under the Crown Rents (Apportionment) Ordinance, this being the highest total since 1958-59. Applications under this Ordinance may be made either by the owner of the Remaining Portion of a lot, in which case the rents of all the sections are determined, or by a section owner, in which case the rent of his section only is determined, the rent of the remainder of the lot being reduced correspondingly. Upon determina- tion of the rent of a section the owner is deemed to hold the section as if a separate Crown lease for it had been granted to him at the determined rent.

Fees

66. Owing to the increase in the number of instruments registered there was a small rise in the total Land Office fees collected. The year's total of $1,424,503, being $79,000 more than last year, was made up as follows:

Deeds registration and Miscellaneous Crown leases

Apportionment of Crown rents

Consents to sale of units in uncompleted multi-storey

buildings

$1,324,507

71,837

4,159

24,000

$1,424,503

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