Registrar-Generals-Department-Annual-report-1972-1973 — Page 31

Card Indexes of Owners and Mortgagees

63. 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, on 31st March 1973 there were 222,649 landowners (excluding mortgagees) an increase of 18,248 over the previous year's total. Many of these own several properties, many simply a small undivided share in a property coupled with the right to a flat. Table VIII shows the growth of the number of landowners (excluding mortgagees) by more than 143,000 from 79,271 in 1963-64 to 222,649 in 1972-73. The figures, however, cannot be taken as completely accurate since it is possible that the holdings of two people with identical names, both in romanized form and in Chinese characters, may be on the same card.

Safe Custody of Deeds, Wills, etc.

64. 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 is normally payable in respect of each document so de- posited, but where two or more instruments relate to the same property the charge is $15 for the first instrument and $2 for each additional instrument. Six deposits were made during the year.

Liaison with Legal Profession

65. From time to time the Land Office issues Circular Memoranda to all Solicitors on matters of land policy and Land Office practice. Altogether, 39 such Memoranda have been issued, two during 1972-73. New Solicitors are supplied with back numbers on request.

Crown Rents.

66. Tables IX and X 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 482 to 24,977 and the total Crown rent by $4.51m. to $13.10m.

67. The number of lots on the Village Rent Roll, totalling 1,082, produces only $954 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 1969.

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