2 pilot projects for youth hostels unveiled

Check out which organisations will benefit.

According to a release, Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs Raymond Young unveiled two pilot projects for youth hostels to be located in Sheung Wan and Tai Po.

The sites are 122A-130 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, to be used by Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, and 2 Po Heung Street, Tai Po Market, Tai Po, to be used by the Federation of Youth Groups.

The Sheung Wan site, a vacant school, is 1,632 square metres, allowing for 200 hostel places to be completed in 2016. The Tai Po site, currently a youth centre, is 402 square metres, providing 70 places. Both are currently zoned as Government, Institution & Community sites.

The Government will provide capital funding to the non-governmental organisations through the Capital Works Reserve Fund for developing the hostel and facilities.

The hostel design should be frugal and the net operation floor area of each unit should be in the range of 15 to 20 square metres. The organisations must charge rent for the hostel places, which should not exceed 60% of the market rent for similar size accommodation in nearby areas. The hostels must be self-financing, and form a mandatory reserve of funds to cover costs for operation and maintenance. Any surplus must be deployed to other non-profit programmes or be returned to the Government, subject to the approval of the bureau.

Mr Young said the scheme provides relief to the current shortage of housing accommodation for young people. Tenants should be working youths, aged 18 to 30, who are Hong Kong permanent residents.

The income level of a one-person household applicant should not exceed the 75th percentile of the monthly employment earnings of employed persons aged 18 to 30. The total net asset limit of them should not exceed $300,000. The household income level of a two-person household applicant should not exceed twice the level of a one-person household, and the total net asset limit of them should not exceed $600,000.

The first tenancy should be at least two years, which can be renewed for an aggregate of no more than five years. Applicants must not own any residential property in Hong Kong, or hold any residential property in Hong Kong through a company.

Mr Young said youths may queue for public rental housing and youth hostels at the same time, but doing so after a hostel unit has been allocated would not be allowed.

The pilot projects must go through the town planning process and seek funding from Legislative Council. The bureau will review the scheme, based on the progress of the pilot projects, and discuss plans with other organisations which have expressed interest.