ENG-1968 — Page 191

138

LAND AND HOUSING

Rents are fixed at the lowest possible level to cover reimbursement of the capital cost over 40 years (at 34 per cent compound interest a year), plus all annually recurrent expenditure including the cost of administration and maintenance. Where appropriate, an element for water charges and rates is included in the rent. Rents vary according to the Mark and the size of the room: the all-in rent of a standard room of 120 square feet in a Mark I or II block is $18 a month (having been raised, for the first time, from $14 in 1965), while the all-in rent of a standard room of 135 square feet in a Mark V block is $39. Despite the large population and the wide variety of rents charged, the number of tenants failing to pay is still extremely small. Of the total of $72 million due in rents for the year, only about 0.036 per cent had to be written off as irrecover- able arrears.

The resettlement estates are virtually townships (the population of Tsz Wan Shan estate, for instance, is around 124,000 and greater than one or two members of the United Nations) and a wide range of community facilities must be provided. Ground floor rooms are let as shops or workshops to settlers who operated similar businesses in clearance areas. Shops sizes vary. Those of 240 square feet in the Mark I and II estates are divided into four grades and are available at all-in monthly rents of $200, $150, $115 or $80 according to locality. (These rents are being raised by two stages and on April 1, 1969 will be $249, $188, $130 and $90 respectively.) In the Mark III and IV estates the sizes vary again and, as with domestic rooms, rents are higher. A shop of 258 square feet in a Mark IV estate, for instance, attracts a rent ranging from $268 a month to $109.50, depending on locality. Rents include rates and the gradings are subject to annual review. Some shop spaces are used by government departments and private welfare organizations as schools, clinics or nurseries. Even the rooftops in Mark I and II blocks are put to use. Most of them have been allocated to voluntary agencies who operate primary schools or children's clubs under the guidance of the Education or Social Welfare Departments. In some of the Mark III blocks the top floors are used for schools, while in estates incor- porating Mark IV and V buildings separate six-storey buildings (each with 24 classrooms) are provided for primary school ac- commodation. In the latest blocks provision has been made for self-contained kindergarten accommodation. Some estates have