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To let: trendy flats for the next start-up generation

Online service offers community-style flats for young businesspeople with big ambitions

One of the top challenges facing young people on the mainland, especially those who want to start their own businesses, is the cost of finding a place to live, especially in big cities.

That's where Liu Yang can help. The co-founder of YOU+ International Youth Community, Liu, 40, offers trendy and cosy community-style flats for rent online to young people.

The three-year-old company converts buildings like old factories into small lofts with open public spaces, specifically aimed at young start-up businesspeople. Last year it attracted a personal investment of 100 million yuan (HK$127 million) from Lei Jun, the chief executive of smartphone maker Xiaomi.

"They are like the younger version of me, full of dreams with little money in their pockets. Our goal is to give them a roof like a home and a useful network for their future," Liu said.

Next month YOU+ will open two new communities in Beijing's Haidian district, the location of two of China's top universities and of the Zhongguancun technology hub.

The bigger development will have more than 400 flats in the Suzhouqiao area, and the other 200 rooms in the Shangdi area.

Liu said that he had visited many flats, hotels, youth hostels and motels in Europe and America before building the YOU+ community. "I thought it would be a waste just to copy others' ideas. We really needed to create our own thing," he said.

The 133 flats in the first YOU+ community in Guangzhou's Baiyun district were rented for a competitive price of 2,500 yuan a month for a 22 square metre studio and 3,500 yuan for 50 square metres with a bathroom and kitchen.

One of the community's top attractions is the public living space, where young people can meet and socialise over table football and karaoke.

"These young people left home to fight for their dreams. They need a place like home to connect to. YOU+ provides a platform for them to interact with each other directly," Liu said.

YOU+ flats are not open to anyone. Prospective tenants must meet a list of basic criteria: younger than 45, single, no children or pets, outgoing and willing to make friends. That hasn't been a deterrent, with sometimes more than 200 people waiting to view an apartment, according to the company.

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: To let: trendy flats for the next start-up generation
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