ENG-1962 — Page 232

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LAND AND HOUSING

the latter, temporary structures may be built with a permit from the district officer. When existing structures in the New Terri- tories have to be cleared from areas required for development, the occupants are normally given assistance to rebuild their huts on tolerated sites elsewhere. An exception is Tsuen Wan, where 10,381 persons who had to be cleared during 1962 from areas required for development were resettled direct into standard re- settlement blocks in the new Tai Wo Hau Estate.

The squatter population is continually augmented by natural increase as well as by infiltration of new families into tolerated huts. Many come from demolished tenements and the influx of immigrants in 1962 made its impact. A newly-designed resettlement block to replace the H-type will shortly be under construction. Known as the Mark III block, the design is different from the earlier versions in that it is served by a central corridor, thus making it possible to provide a private balcony for each room. In other respects the facilities provided are similar to those in the original blocks. The block will be of eight or eight and a half floors according to terrain. Consideration is being given in suitable areas to the construction of higher blocks served by lifts. This is a great advancement and will greatly assist in accelerating the rate of resettlement. It will also resolve, in part, the difficulties in finding suitable sites in the closely developed urban area.

RENT CONTROLS

In 1947 the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance replaced certain temporary proclamations made shortly after the end of the Pacific War. Its object was to protect tenants of pre-war premises and it limited increases in rents to 30 per cent for domestic premises and 45 per cent for business premises over the standard 1941 rents. Essentially the same controls exist today, although increases of up to 55 per cent of standard rent for domestic premises and 150 per cent for business premises were allowed in 1954, after an increase for business premises of up to 100 per cent in 1949. It is now possible for a landlord who wishes to redevelop controlled property to get permission to do so through a tenancy tribunal on conditions which include the payment of compensation to tenants for the loss of their tenancies.