ENG-1957 — Page 215

184

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

not unusual to find a particular lot owned by upwards of one hundred individuals as tenants in common, the individual shares varying greatly. Development companies have found this a convenient and profitable way of obtaining a quick return on their investments, but the complications which will result from the multi-ownership of a single structure are already becoming apparent. There has been a rapid upsurge in the re-development of existing premises and many applications for the exemption of properties from the provi- sions of the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance are now being heard by Tenancy Tribunals. (See also at pages 227, 228 of Chapter 13). The rate of compensation for statutory tenants has increased considerably, owners now being willing to pay up to $15 to $20 a square foot to obtain vacant possession. The first interim report of the Special Committee on Housing, which was accepted by the Government in July. 1956, had included a recommendation that a Development Division of the Public Works Department should be set up in order to plan and carry out large-scale engineering works designed to open up new land for housing and industry. Difficulties of recruitment prevented the implementation of this recommendation, but in December 1957 the Govern- ment announced that, with the same end in view, Messrs. Scott & Wilson, Kirkpatrick and Partners, a firm of con- sulting engineers, had been commissioned to report on the potentialities of some areas in the New Territories as sites for new towns and large-scale development. The areas select- ed for the investigation are Tai Po, Sha Tin, Gin Drinkers Bay, Castle Peak Bay and Junk Bay; and joined with the Tai Po scheme is a proposal for the construction of a road to link Tsuen Wan to Tai Po, passing the Shing Mun Reservoir and over Lead Mine Pass to the east of Tai Mo Shan.

HOUSING

The general background of Hong Kong's housing prob- lem, which has been so gravely accentuated by the influx