The Hong Kong government’s latest affordable housing scheme is transforming a hotel into hostels for youth. Almost 100 young people have registered for this programme in the week since applications opened.

The Tin Shui Wai Residents Services Association Fund Committee on Thursday revealed how they would transform the area’s 20-storey Hotel COZI into a home for young people called Sky One Hostel.

“The hostel could help youths save money to buy their own flats by offering them a low-rent living environment,” committee chairman Leung Che-cheung said.

Sky One is in the northern New Territories, and it will offer 672 places at an average monthly rent of HK$3,500 (US$449) for eligible residents aged between 18 and 30. The first group of tenants is expected to move in as early as October 1.

Leung said the hostel provided amenities such as a gym and common areas and some of the bedrooms had views over Hong Kong Wetland Park or the sea.

“The hostel has all the necessary amenities, so young people can come to live there by carrying their own luggage,” he said, adding that good public transport links made it easy to commute to the heart of the city.

For Hong Kong youth, government-backed hostels offer a ray of housing hope

Tsoi Shing-hin, a Sky One management board committee member, said applicants would be invited for interviews as early as late August.

He added that a variety of factors – including the present living environment and the family background of applicants – would be considered as part of the housing allocation process.

The average size of a Sky One room is about 291 sq ft – suitable for up to two people in single beds or one double bed. Rental costs are expected to range from HK$3,400 to HK$3,700.

The upper income level a month is pegged at HK$28,000 for a sole applicant and double that – HK$56,000 – for two people. Applications for rooms at Sky One can be made using an online form.

One of the applicants, a 21-year-old warehouse clerk identified only as Adrian, said he lived in the Ha Tsuen new development area, which is far from the city centre, and he wanted to live where commuting would be easier.

“If I could live in the Sky One Hostel, it could help me save a lot of transport time from home to the workplace,” he explained.

He said he could use the time saved to do part-time work and increase his income. He added it normally took him at least half an hour to travel from home to his workplace.

The management board of Sky One Hostel, including Leung Che-cheung (third from left), at a press conference. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

The association is one of the NGOs given government subsidies to change hotels or guest houses into hostel-type accommodation for young people.

Sky One is the second project to be created as part of the youth hostels scheme in the New Territories and one of four planned for the city.

The first youth hostel in the area is in Yuen Long, developed by charity Po Leung Kuk, which has 1,680 places.

The rent per month for a single room in the Yuen Long development ranges from HK$2,950 to HK$3,750, while a double room costs between HK$3,100 and HK$4,200.

The 2022 policy address said the government would increase the supply of youth hostels by subsidising non-governmental organisations to take over suitable hotels and guest houses. The government said at the time it wanted to create about 3,000 new hostel places for young people within five years.

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