ENG-1990 — Page 241

HOUSING

202

Nineteen District Work Groups, each comprising senior district staff of the Social Welfare Department, City and New Territories Administration, Housing Department and a representative from the Hong Kong Council of Social Service have been formed to work out action plans for the respective districts.

Letting of Commercial Properties

The Housing Authority manages 1.26 million square metres of commercial space for shops, market stalls, banks, restaurants and flatted factory units, of which 54 000 square metres was completed in 1990.

The commercial space is let under some 28 000 separate tenancies. Rental income during the year amounted to $1,624 million.

The stock includes 5 679 ‘graded' shop tenancies in former resettlement estates. These shops were initially let at very low rents and current rents are, in most cases, less than one-third of market levels despite moderate biennial increases since 1976. Rents for other commercial premises are fixed at market levels, in keeping with the authority's policy not to subsidise commercial operators. The majority of commercial premises continue to be let by rental tender but the letting of selected premises by negotiation has enabled the authority to attract well-known retailers and reduce vacancies.

Under the Commercial Properties Committee, research and design were emphasised to ensure that new shopping centres are best suited to the needs of tenants and local residents, and existing centres were upgraded where necessary. Improvement works were carried out to upgrade 11 shopping centres in 1990, and promotional activities were held in more than 70 centres to sustain and enhance their competitiveness.

The experimental letting of an entire market to a single operator proved very popular with residents and two other new markets have been selected for letting in the same way. To further enhance the general image of the authority's shopping centres and to attract high-quality retailers, a video documentary has been produced with active participation from major tenants.

Six-monthly reviews of the rents of tenants affected by the Comprehensive Re- development Programme continue to be made to ensure that such tenants are not being asked to pay rents in excess of market value. Tenants required to vacate their premises to facilitate redevelopment receive an ex-gratia payment. In some cases, alternative premises are offered through restricted tender and a three-month rent-free period is granted to the successful tenderer. As an alternative to reprovisioning, such commercial tenants can now choose to relinquish the opportunity for reprovisioning and opt for a lump sum payment of $24,000 to assist the relocation of their business.

Temporary Housing

Temporary Housing Areas (THAs) are built for people who are not immediately eligible for permanent public housing but who are displaced by development clearances or made homeless by fires or natural disasters and who have been in Hong Kong for less than seven years.

At the end of the year, there were 77 THAs with a total capacity of 149 000 person spaces. During the year, temporary housing spaces for 15 000 people were completed against a loss of 12 000 spaces mainly through the development of existing sites. In the same period, 10 000 people mostly affected by development clearances were allocated units in THAS