Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1971-1972 — Page 29

56. Most families do not move in immediately, but arrange for their rooms to be decorated. Because of the poor basic room finish, new tenants almost invariably embark on an extensive scheme of decoration for their new rooms. These decorations, which are undertaken by private contractors and often cost up to $1,200 a room, cause a con- siderable management problem. Tenants are permitted to plaster the walls, but not to install windows on the balcony since this obstructs ventilation. Tenants are also made fully responsible for the activities of the contractors employed by them against a decoration deposit of $50 per room. The controlled intake made it possible to attain a better management standard in the new blocks filled during the year.

OVERCROWDING

57. When resettlement estates were first occupied in 1954, allocation of rooms was based on a minimum space standard of 24 square feet per adult (two children under ten counting as one adult). This emergency measure had to be continued over the years owing to the severe shortage of housing. During these years, the older estates became very over- crowded both by natural increase and as a result of generous addition policies whereby relatives were allowed to be added to households. To prevent unnecessary overcrowding, a stricter addition policy was in- troduced in May 1970. During the year, 10,773 persons, as compare to 16,388 in the previous year, were added to the tenancy records and the death of 777 residents were reported while a further 9,513 left the estates for other accommodation.

58. The 1971 Census recorded a population of 942,794 persons in the estates. The department's record of total residents was 1,100,277. This discrepancy suggests the possibility of an element of 'paper over- crowding'. However, it should be borne in mind that while the Census figures show the number of actual residents at the time of the survey, the department's figures indicate the number of registered authorized tenants some of whom may have been temporarily absent at the time of the census. A sample check carried out by the department would appear to indicate that the actual total estate population is somewhere between the two figures, possibly nearer the Census figure than the department's record of authorized tenants. Nonetheless, the problem of overcrowding remains serious in many of the estates.

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