Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1968-1969 — Page 55

according to the amount of water consumed. The all-in monthly charge for the tenant of a standard room of 129 square feet plus a balcony in a Mark IV block in the urban areas is $26 for rent, $6 for rates and $3 for water (unless metered), a total of $35. Rents in Mark I and II blocks, which were worked out in 1954 and revised in 1965, are considerably lower, as might be expected in view of the simpler type of accommoda- tion. In these blocks, only the largest rooms attract rates, and for the standard room of 120 square feet the all-in charge is $18 a month, made up of $15 rent and $3 for water.

131. Shop and workshop rents in estates are determined by the size and location of the premises. There are four grades based on location, and shops enjoying the best trading situations adjoining main roads or hawker markets are charged more than those less advantageously placed. Shop units in the Mark I and II estates range in size from 120 to 310 sq. ft. The rents for these shops were increased during the year and as from 1st April, 1969 the rent for a shop of 120 sq. ft. in the urban areas varies from $45 to $124.50 depending on the grade. The rent includes an element for rates and water charges. As with domestic rooms, Mark III and IV estate shop rents are higher, a Grade A shop of 120 square feet in the urban area being charged $124.50 a month (including rates and water). Workshops are usually in the lowest grade as they are in locations least suitable for retail trade.

132. 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 that would be set if the land were put up for sale by public auction, and it is amortized over twenty-one years with compound interest at 5% per annum. Here again rates are included in the rent payable by tenants. In the older factories, rentals for a unit of 198 square feet vary from $75 a month on the ground floor to $45 on the top floor, and in the newest factories from $140 to $65 for a unit of 256 square feet.

133. A schedule of the gross rentals charged for all types of resettlement accommodation is at Appendix 4.

134. Capital expenditure on estates and factories incurred by Public Works Department amounted to $51,624,207 during the year bringing to $781,077,544 the total spent under this head in the 14 years of the Resettlement Department's existence. The department's

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