Spark Deep Dive: Hong Kong's student housing crisis

South China Morning Post

01-06-2025

Deep Dive delves into hot issues in Hong Kong and mainland China. Our easy-to-read articles provide context to grasp what's happening, while our questions help you craft informed responses. Check sample answers at the end of the page.
News: Hong Kong's non-local university students are desperate for housing
Number of non-local students, mainly from mainland China, is expected to rise amid tensions with the US
City has more than 100,000 full-time university students enrolled but only 40,600 hostel beds
Mainland Chinese student Corner Zhang, 18, is searching for a place to stay for his second year of university in Hong Kong after his application for campus housing was rejected.
He had a shared dormitory room for his first year at Baptist University in Kowloon Tong. However, the school has not assured him of accommodation for the new academic year, which begins in September.
Like other universities in the city, it does not have enough student housing for everyone who applies. Baptist University only guarantees housing to locals for a year and non-locals in their first year of study.
Students from mainland China make up most of the non-local students in Hong Kong. Their number is expected to rise amid tensions and tightened visa and immigration procedures in the United States since President Donald Trump began his second term in January.
One option Zhang is considering is renting a flat with other students outside Kowloon Tong. The neighbourhood is one of the most expensive residential areas in the city.
He paid around HK$2,700 (US$345) per month for his university room, and he expects his monthly rent to at least double. He will also have to pay more for transport and other living costs.
'I will have to work part-time doing food delivery,' he said. 'I just want to find a place to stay with a decent roommate who won't disturb my life or studies.'
According to the Education Bureau, for the 2024-25 academic year, the city's eight publicly funded universities had 76,943 Hongkongers and 26,476 non-locals in full-time undergraduate and postgraduate research programmes.
However, these universities only offered around 40,600 hostel places. Although dormitory places grew by 15 per cent over the past decade, universities could not keep up with the overall growth in enrolment, particularly the sharp rise in non-local students.
Demand will likely continue to rise, as the cap on non-local enrolments for publicly funded institutions was doubled from 20 per cent to 40 per cent of local student places from the current academic year.
The need for accommodation is especially strong at Hong Kong's self-financing universities, which rely on non-local students.
The number of local students in full-time self-financing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the current academic year fell 11 per cent to 37,260 from a decade ago. Meanwhile, the number of non-locals more than tripled to 49,734 from 11,476 in 2015-16, according to official data.
Staff writers
Question prompts
1. According to the information in the news, which of the following are true?
(1) Zhang expects his monthly rent to double to HK$2,000 when he rents a flat.
(2) Hong Kong's publicly-funded universities have around 40,600 hostel spots available.
(3) The city's publicly funded universities had more than 26,000 non-locals enrolled in full-time undergraduate and postgraduate research programmes during the 2023-24 academic year.
(4) The number of non-local students in Hong Kong has doubled over the last 10 years.
A. (1), (2) only
B. (2), (4) only
C. (1), (4) only
D. (2), (3) only
2. Using the news, list TWO issues that Zhang faces regarding housing.
3. What factors have contributed to the lack of student housing? Explain using the news and your own knowledge.
Cartoon
Question prompts
1. What is being shown in this cartoon? How does it relate to the information presented in the news?
2. How might local students deal with the issue of housing differently from non-local students? What resources might local students have that non-local students don't? Explain using the news and your own knowledge.
Glossary
publicly funded universities: universities that get financial support from the Hong Kong government. They often have lower tuition fees and focus on research and accessibility. Hong Kong's eight publicly funded universities are the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Polytechnic University, City University, Baptist University, Lingnan University, and the Education University of Hong Kong.
hostel: a place that provides inexpensive housing for students, workers, or travellers. It often includes shared or dorm-style rooms.
self-financing institutions: educational establishments that do not get direct government funding. Instead, they rely on tuition fees, donations, and other revenue sources. Hong Kong's self-financed institutions include, but are not limited to, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, and Shue Yan University.
Students walk outside the Swire Building, a student residence at the University of Hong Kong. Photo: Elson Li
Sample answers
News
1. B
2. Zhang is from mainland China, and therefore, he has no family to stay with in Hong Kong. Like many other non-local students, his application for on-campus housing was rejected by his university. Therefore, he has to find lodging himself.
Additionally, Zhang expects his monthly rent to double when he moves off-campus. Because of this rent increase, he said he will need to work part-time to make ends meet.
3. University students struggle to find housing partly because of the rise in non-local students. These non-locals do not have the luxury of living at home with their parents during university. They are forced to find housing because universities cannot provide accommodation for more than a semester or two.
In addition to having too many non-local students, there are also too few dorms or on-campus housing options available. This forces students to find alternate lodging. According to the Education Bureau, there were more than 100,000 full-time students in the 2024-25 academic school year, competing for around 40,000 hostel spaces. This means there simply aren't enough spots to go around.
Cartoon
1. This cartoon shows many hands reaching for a wall that should be filled with keys to student dorms. However, there is only one key left on the board, and all the hands are vying for the same key.
This represents the student housing problem presented in the news, as there are too many students and too few on-campus dorms.
2. Local students usually have the option of living at home during university. For some, this may be inconvenient if they live far away from their school, resulting in a longer commute. Still, it means they know they will have a home, and they can save money.
Non-local students usually do not have this option. Therefore, they are forced to spend the extra money on lodging, which is often only guaranteed for a year at most. After that, they must find their own accommodation, which can be a challenge.