Hong Kong authorities have approved a youth hostel project with up to 84 places, aimed at providing affordable rental housing to young Hongkongers.
The hostel, dubbed Joseph’s House, is the third project under a government subsidy scheme for converting hotels and guesthouses into youth hostels.
The project on 86 and 88 Apliu Street in Sham Shui Po provides 42 rooms, with each place at HK$3,000 per month, and is now open for applications. It joins a Causeway Bay hostel project with 194 places and a Tsuen Wan hostel project with 200 places, announced respectively in March and May.
Joseph’s House is the first project under the Subsidy Scheme located in Kowloon, a spokesperson for the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau said in a statement on Thursday.
“With its central location in Kowloon, it is easily accessible by different means of transport and in close proximity to community facilities and the ‘hipster hub’ in the district, which would well cater for the various daily needs of the youth tenants,” the statement read.
Housing needs
The Sham Shui Po hostel is part of a larger push to curb the city’s housing crisis. The average waiting time for public housing units currently stands at 5.3 years. Chief Executive John Lee vowed during his maiden Policy Address last October that the administration would provide an additional 3,000 discounted hostel places within five years.
The hostel scheme announced last year – which allocates places on a means-tested basis – expands on the city’s 2011 Youth Hostel Scheme, to “further address the housing needs of young people.”
The newest hostel will be operated by Chinese Estates Holdings Limited and the Lady Lau Memorial Charitable Foundation Limited, according to the government statement.
“With the approval of the third project under the Subsidy Scheme, it highlights the support towards the Scheme from different sectors of the community and their eagerness to join hands with the Government to address the housing needs of young people together,” the statement read.
Background checks
Places at Joseph’s House cost about HK$3,000 per month. In addition to rent, that also includes water and electricity fees, Wi-Fi service fees, rates, and management fees. Each room has two beds and a private bathroom.
The hostel has a common area on the second floor that is open to all residents and visitors. It includes a large TV, sofa, refrigerator, microwave, induction cooker, dining table, washing machine, bathroom, free Wi-Fi service, and board games.
The scheme involves checks for applicants’ financial backgrounds and working experience.
Young working Hong Kong residents aged between 18 to 30 with a monthly income of no more than HK$26,000 and a total net asset value of no more than HK$380,000 are eligible to apply for a place in the hostel. For two-person applications, their net asset value should not exceed HK$780,000.
Additionally, applicants also must not solely, jointly, or through a company own properties or have made any agreements – including temporary ones – to purchase properties.
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