Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1964-1965 — Page 41

building costs and administration during recent years and the increasing complexity and expense of site formation. A standard room of 129 square feet in a Mark III block in the urban area costs $30 a month, made up of $23 rent, $5.50 rates and $1.50 water charge. The charge in the New Territories is slightly lower, $28, because rates are assessed at 11% of the rateable value against 17% for the urban area. There is no evidence to show that tenants are unable to pay these rents which are, nevertheless, considerably lower than for comparable accommoda- tion in privately owned property.

95. The rents of shops and workshops in estates are determined by the size and location of the premises. There are four location-grades and shops enjoying the best situations, adjoining main roads or hawker markets, are charged more than those less advantageously placed. Shops in the Mark I and II estates range from 120 to 310 square feet, and the rent (including rates) of a shop of 120 square feet varies from $40 to $100 depending on the grade. As with domestic rooms, Mark III estate shop rents are higher, a Grade A shop of 120 square feet in the urban area being charged $124.50 a month.

96. Rents for units in resettlement factories are calculated on a cost basis, as with domestic rooms, but the capital cost includes the full upset price of the land, and is amortized over twenty-one years with com- pound interest at 5% per annum. Here again, rates are included in the rent payable by tenants. In the older factories rentals per unit of 198 square feet vary from $75 a month on the ground floor to $45 on the top floor, and in the newer factories from $120 to $65 for a unit of 256 square feet.

97. Public Works Department capital expenditure on multi-storey estates and factories, including buildings, site formation, piling and engineering works, amounted to $102,411,146 during the year: expen- diture under this head has totalled $435,298,489 in the eleven years of the Resettlement Department's existence. The department's annual recurrent expenditure has grown from $1,907,431 in 1954-55 to $18,738,273 in 1964-65 (including $1,653,170 spent on maintenance and improvements in estates, cottage areas and resite areas), while receipts for the year amounted to $30,025,641 as against $1,249,425 in 1954-65. Particulars are given at Appendix VIII.

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