Plans for Hong Kong’s 4th subsidised youth hostel approved, with rent starting at HK$3,400
Hong Kong Free Press
Authorities have approved plans for a fourth youth hostel, with monthly rent starting at HK$3,400, under a scheme to provide affordable accommodation for young Hongkongers in one of the world’s most expensive cities for housing.
Sky One, at 8 Tin Sau Road, Tin Shui Wai, is the latest project approved by the government under a programme for converting hotels and guesthouses into affordable accommodation for young working Hong Kong residents.
The hostel, which will provide up to 672 hostel places with a total of 336 rooms, will be operated by the Tin Shui Wai Residents Services Association Fund Committee and Billion Development and Project Management.
Chairman of the Tin Shui Wai residents body Leung Che-cheung told a press conference on Thursday that he had been working with organisations based in the Greater Bay Area to provide professional and entrepreneurial support for the young people at the hostel.
“We are advocating [for residents] to broaden their horizons, and to look to the rest of the world, to the mainland,” Leung said.
The monthly rent for single applicants starts at HK$3,400 and is capped at HK$3,700, with water and electricity fees, Wi-Fi, rates, and management fees included. Places at the hostel also come with a requirement of at least 200 hours of community service.
Leung, a lawmaker and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said he had had “positive and enthusiastic” exchanges with the Yuen Long District Office as to whether volunteering for the district care teams would count towards the community service.
Means testing
The hostel scheme is part of a broader push to increase Hong Kong’s housing supply. Chief Executive John Lee in his maiden Policy Address in October 2022 vowed to provide about 3,000 hostel places within five years.
It currently takes an average of 5.7 years for a resident to be allocated a public rental housing unit in Hong Kong. Single applicants can expect to wait far longer than this.
Since applications opened last Friday, the committee had received about a hundred. Interviews would be held from late this month until early September, and successful tenants would be able to move in from October.
Applicants’ housing and family situation and community participation would also be considered, it was revealed at the Thursday press conference.
Ip Chun-yuen, a district councillor who also sits on the committee for the Tin Shui Wai hostel, told reporters that applicants would be interviewed about their career plans, to assist with career planning and support.
Under the means-tested hostel scheme, applicants must undergo checks on their financial background. Monthly income should not exceed HK$28,000, and net asset value should not exceed HK$398,000 to be eligible for a place.
Applicants must not own a property or have made an agreement to purchase one.
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