ENG-1991 — Page 241

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

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$1 billion being paid for a residential site in Fanling. However, the problem of speculation on resale of flats in new developments was becoming more evident. In view of the situation, the Lands Administration Office increased the amount of land it originally planned to sell in the land sales programme.

Notable land transactions in 1991 included the grant of a 58.47-hectare site on the north west of Stonecutters Island for the construction of Container Terminal 8, the grant of a 1.35-hectare site for a further expansion of the Tai Po Industrial Estate and a 6-hectare site in Sha Tin for the construction of an educational institution.

The first grants of land, in Mong Kok and Wan Chai districts, were made to the Land Development Corporation for the redevelopment of existing old buildings into new commercial/residential buildings with provision of markets, social services facilities and government offices in line with government's policy on urban renewal.

Four sites in Kowloon, former government quarters sites with a total area of 1.68 hectares, were sold by auction for residential use. Many more such sites are expected to come on stream as the government rationalises its land holdings.

Two sites with a total area of 6.31 hectares were sold under the Private Participation Scheme, which will provide a total of 6 280 flats. Six sites were also granted to the Hong Kong Housing Authority for the development of Home Ownership Scheme projects. These included a 2.5-hectare site at Fanling and a 1.1-hectare site at Tin Shui Wai in the Yuen Long district. A further five hectares of land were granted to the Housing Authority for the implementation of its scheme to sell flats to sitting tenants.

In the New Territories, eight sites with a total area of 7.95 hectares were sold by tender restricted to holders of Land Exchange Entitlements (Letter A/B). These included a 1.95-hectare site in Tsuen Wan, a 1.79-hectare site in Fanling and a 1.72-hectare site at Ma On Shan in the Sha Tin district. All three sites were for commercial/residential use.

Land Registration

The Land Registration Ordinance provides for registration of all instruments affecting land in the Land Office, one of the two major sections of the Land Division of the Registrar General's Department. Registration is by means of a memorial form containing the essential particulars of the instrument which are then placed on a computerised (except in the New Territories District Land Registries) register relating to the particular piece of land or individual premises affected, such as residential flats, shops, and commercial and industrial premises. The registers provide a complete picture of the title to each property from the grant of the government lease. They are available for search by the public on payment of a small fee. The memorials and a complete copy of each registered instrument are kept and are also available for search in microfilm form by the public on payment of a fee.

The ordinance also provides that all instruments registered under it shall have priority according to their respective dates of registration, unless they are registered within one month of execution, in which case priority relates back to the date of the instrument. For charging orders made by the court and pending court actions, priority runs from the day following the date of registration. The ordinance further provides that unregistered instruments, other than bona fide leases at a rack rent for a term not exceeding three years, shall be null and void as against any subsequent bona fide purchaser or mortgagee for valuable consideration.