ENG-1971 — Page 182

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LAND AND HOUSING

(Owners Incorporation) Ordinance in June 1970. By the end of 1971, 282 owners' associations had been formed under the ordinance. This is a satisfactory start and has been accompanied by the forma- tion of federations of these associations in several city districts with the object of improving their efficiency. Training courses for the secretaries of these associations have now been started by the Secre- tariat for Home Affairs.

Multi-storey building associations are based on a physical and social entity, the law-abiding members of which have a common purpose in seeking to improve both their physical environment and communal relations. Moreover, these bodies cut across all boundaries of dialect, occupation and—to a certain extent-class and offer a strong potential for community development.

HOUSING

The problem of housing the four million people of Hong Kong within its very limited urban and suburban areas has been solved to a great extent by the provision of multi-storey blocks of govern- ment or government-aided housing which at present accommodate 1,749,460 people. In spite of this accomplishment, statistics show that the demand for public housing by the middle and lower income groups is still very strong. Housing in outlying districts, which did not seem very attractive to the public two years ago, has now been over-subscribed several times the number of flats expected to be completed in the next few years. At the end of 1971, domestic accommodation in the urban areas, owned by private landlords, comprised 198,200 tenement floors, 64,600 small flats, 25,100 large flats and 1,050 houses.

A Housing Board was set up in 1965 to keep under review the building progress in all types of housing, assess the present and future housing needs and the balance between types of housing, and advise on administrative measures to improve co-ordination between housing agencies. The main recommendations of the board in 1970 were that the management practice in resettlement estates should be brought more into line with that of the Housing Authority in manag- ing government low-cost housing estates, and that the Government should aim at providing housing for a further 700,000 people (including 30,000 at Castle Peak and 30,000 at Sha Tin) between April 1, 1970 and March 31, 1976. These recommendations have been accepted by the Governor in Council.