ENG-1973 — Page 148

LAND AND HOUSING

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such renewal'. The method of determining such rents previously adopted by the Director of Public Works was to assess the rent on the basis of the value of the land at the date of renewal.

This method was challenged in court and upheld on appeal to the Privy Council but, a review of the lease renewal policy resulted in the introduction of several con- cessions in favour of the Crown lessees. These included, in the case of underdeveloped lots, a new Crown rent equal to 30 per cent of the net annual value at the date of renewal, and in the case of lots with pre-war buildings subject to the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, no increase in the Crown rent on renewal.

In view of the sharp rise in land prices in late 1972 and the early part of 1973 a further concession was proposed to the effect that the rent should be assessed on either the value of the land at the date of expiry of the lease or that pertaining one year prior to expiry, whichever was the less. Legislation was drafted on this basis but there was considerable public pressure from interested parties for yet a further revision of the government's lease renewal policy. It was eventually decided that determining the reassessed rent in accordance with the provisions of Crown leases should be abandoned and that all Crown leases should be statutorily renewed on annual rent at an amount equal to three per cent of the rateable value of the property. This legislation passed into law on December 12 as the Crown Leases Ordinance 1973.

The issue, renewal, variation and termination of Crown leases is dealt with by the Land Office, a branch of the Registrar Generals Department which also has responsibility for the registration of all instruments affecting land, as well as the settling and registration of conditions of sale, the grant and exchange of Crown land, the granting of mining leases, and advising the government generally on matters relating to land.

The system of registration, introduced in 1844, is broadly similar to that in the Yorkshire Deeds Registries, in England. The Land Registration Ordinance provides that all deeds and instruments registered under it shall have priority according to their respective dates of registration. Also that deeds and instruments not registered, other than bona fide leases at rack rent for any term not exceeding three years, shall be absolutely null and void as against any subsequent bona fide purchaser or mortagee for valuable consideration. Registration is therefore essential to the protection of title, but does not guarantee it. The ordinance is now under review and changes in the system are anticipated.

The number of instruments registered in the Land Office during the year rose by 5.8 per cent from last year's total of 91,057 to 96,366. More detailed statistics with comparisons with previous years are contained in Appendix 28. At the end of 1973 the card index of property owners contained the names of 237,114 people (an increase of 19,647 over the previous year), some owning several properties, but most being merely owners or part owners of small individual flats.

Setting out public works and boundaries of private lots and government sites (cadastral or title survey), the delineation of town planning layouts and the production of plans and maps; are the responsibilities of the Hong Kong islands survey division and mainland survey division of the Crown Lands and Survey Office. Activity during