Registrar-Generals-Department-Annual-report-1970-1971 — Page 25

permitted by the lease the owner would, notwithstanding that the building on the lot was in good condition, be obliged, in order to be able to meet the greatly increased rent, either to redevelop or, if he did not himself have the necessary funds, to sell the lot for redevelopment. To meet this situation Government gives the lessee the choice of renewing on the normal terms or of surrendering his existing lease and receiving a new one in which development would be restricted to that existing on the property at the time. In that case the rent would be re-assessed on the basis of the restricted development and so be considerably lower. If at a later date the lessee wishes to redevelop his lot more intensively he can apply for a modification of the lease restrictions and pay the full increased develop- ment value by instalments within a specified time, not exceeding a period of three years nor being later than the date of the first assignment of the whole or part of the property. The re-assessed Crown rent would however remain unaltered.

40. Two concessions were announced by the Government on 8th July 1967. The first of these was that at any time within 20 years of the expiry of the original lease a lessee who wishes to redevelop his lot can apply for a new lease on payment of a premium payable in a lump sum or by three annual instalments. The second concession is that if any lessee waits until the expiry of his original lease term, he will then have the choice of paying each year a re-assessed Crown rent or of paying in a lump sum the capitalized value of the re-assessed Crown rent, after deducting the current zone or standard New Territories Crown rent, which would continue to be payable throughout the new term. In the same announcement, the Government also made known its decision that holders of Old Schedule Lots and certain other lots held under 75-year renewable leases in the New Territories, including Survey District Lots in New Kowloon which are registered in the District Land Office, Sai Kung, would be allowed to renew their leases in 1973 for the balance of the New Territories lease (less the last 3 days) without paying a re- assessed Crown rent, and that legislation would be introduced in due course to put this decision into effect. The legislation, in the form of the New Territories (Renewable Crown Leases) Ordinance, was duly enacted on 9th May 1969. A further concession was announced by the Govern- ment on 3rd June 1969. Under this a lessee who wishes to redevelop his lot will be allowed to surrender his lease at any time within 20 years of the expiry of the original term in exchange for a new lease on payment of a re-assessed Crown rent, but without payment of any premium. In

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