Hong Kong urged to expand private housing as demand from non-local students rises
Hong Kong’s projected annual demand for housing for non-local students has risen 45 per cent to 2,310 flats over the next decade, according to the latest housing strategy report. Lawmakers and university leaders are calling for more private supply, developer partnerships and additional hostels as student numbers grow.
Hong Kong is facing calls to expand private housing and student accommodation after the government raised its estimate of annual demand from non-local students to 2,310 flats over the next decade. The figure, contained in the latest Long-Term Housing Strategy progress report, is 45 per cent higher than last year’s estimate. The Housing Bureau linked the increase to an average annual rise of about 7,100 student visas between 2016-17 and 2025-26.
About 65 per cent of those students did not live in university halls or hostels, according to the report. Lawmaker Scott Leung Man-kwong said demand would continue to rise as Hong Kong sought to strengthen its position as a destination for tertiary education. Leung said that when universities could not provide enough accommodation, students would move into the private rental market.
He identified Western, Sha Tin, Tai Po, Yuen Long and Tuen Mun as districts facing pressure because of their proximity to universities, while transport hubs such as Olympic Station were also popular. He warned that competition with local residents could push up rents and proposed that universities work with property agents to recommend reasonably priced homes in alternative districts with good transport links. He also suggested a pilot to increase the private-housing proportion in selected areas, while keeping Hong Kong’s overall public-to-private supply ratio at 7:3.
Professor Joshua Mok Ka-ho, president of Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, said land shortages affected both accommodation and teaching facilities. He called for incentives for developers to participate in a university town and student-housing projects. His institution was working with a hotel group and a developer to add beds in Sha Tin and Ngau Tau Kok.
Authorities have relaxed rules for converting commercial buildings and hotels into hostels under the “Hostel in the City” scheme. As of June, they had received 40 eligible applications expected to provide 9,100 beds. The city also plans to raise the cap on non-local students at public universities to 50 per cent from the 2026-27 academic year.
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