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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

THE COMMISSIONER for RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:

The first part of this question asks whether Government is now prepared to consider resettling persons whose domes- tic tenancies have been terminated as a result of exclusion from the further application of the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance of the premises in which they were living. It has not yet been possible to evolve a workable system for extending the rent advance scheme to domestic tenants affected by exclusion orders. However, the class of prop- erty most commonly affected by applications for ex- clusion orders falls within the terms of reference of the Working Party on Slum Clearance, and the Report of the Working Party, when completed, may suggest a solution to this problem.

The second part of this question asks how many people were deprived of their protected tenancies under exclusion orders from January-September of this year.

I am informed that in the first 8 months of the year, 27,415 persons were so affected. The general pattern of re-

accommodation after an exclusion order has been made is that, of the people affected, about 60% are likely to move to post-war premises, about 18% to pre-war pro- tected premises, 5 or 6% to rural or village-type houses, mostly in the New Territories, and some 16% to squatter huts or on to boats or to staircases. (These figures are approximate as only a proportion of dispossessed tenants complete and return their questionaires to the Tenancy Inquiry Bureau).

The third part of this question asks what progress has been made in resettling the other categories listed by the Work- ing Party on Resettlement and Low Cost Housing. The White Paper called the Review of Policies for Squatter Control, Resettlement and Government Low Cost Hous- ing was approved in September 1964, and the following table gives the numbers of persons resettled from 1st October 1964 to 31st August 1965. The table is set out in accordance with the list of priorities given in the White Paper :-

(i) former domestic tenants of dangerous buildings resettled under the rent advance scheme--6,990. Of this total, 5,226 persons had been living in resite areas before the scheme came into effect, while the remain- ing 1,764 came straight out of condemned tenements. An additional 1,370 persons have paid their rent advance and are awaiting resettlement, which will be

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arranged as soon as the blocks reserved for them are ready. Of these 1,370 persons, 788 are living in Re- settlement Department transit accommodation, 21 in resite areas, and the remainder in alternative accom- modation of their own choice. $2,877,200 has been collected so far in rent advances;

(ii) (a) special compassionate cases resettled--

1,065 persons;

(b) victims of natural disasters resettled-

1,431;

(iii) occupants of cottage areas resettled-8,850; occu- pants of resite areas resettled (excluding those given at (i) above)-19,092;

(iv) squatters occupying tolerated structures on Crown land required for development 48,165, plus 6,206 boat squatters;

(v) tenants of overcrowded estate rooms decanted-

17,602;

(vi) pavement dwellers occupying tolerated structures re-

settled-1,884.

MR. SALES-Sir, may I ask the Commissioner what effect has decantation on overcrowding in Resettlement Estates?

COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-Sir, the figure I have just given of 17,602 persons decanted refers to the past eleven months. In other words, therefore, overcrowded families have been decanted at the rate of 1,600 persons a month. Each month about 1,600 persons become eligible for decantation, their living conditions having fallen for the first time below the decantation limit of 16 sq. ft. of living space per adult. As there are at any one particular time, about 18,000 persons living below that level, it will be seen that if we continue to decant at the present rate, once any family falls below the decantation limit, then that family need wait no longer than twelve months before it's turn comes to be moved into larger accommodation.

MR. BERNACCHI:-Sir, as the Working Party recommended that the, (to use Mr. SALES' words), victims of Exclusion Orders be resettled, why is it not possible yet to evolve a workable system for extending the rent advance scheme to the domestic tenants affected by Exclusion Orders? I can quite see that this was not in the White Paper because Government chose to take the Minority Working Party Report and not the Majority, but why is it not possible to evolve a workable system extending the rent advance scheme to domestic tenants affected by Exclusion Orders, particularly as the Exclusion Orders of recent months have been falling off very considerably.