Hong Kong researchers sceptical about plan to use hotels, guest houses as transitional housing for families in subdivided flats

Residents do not like the idea of sharing kitchens and other facilities with neighbours, survey finds

Researchers interviewed 15 families living in subdivided flats last December to understand their expectations and views on transitional housing

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Cruise Hotel, which is now called B Hotel, joined a transitional housing project. Photo: Facebook

Published: 8:25pm, 3 Jun 2021Updated: 11:06pm, 3 Jun 2021

Researchers have cast doubt on the Hong Kong government’s strategy of using hotels and guest houses as transitional housing for low-income families in subdivided units, after a survey found residents did not like the idea of sharing kitchens and other facilities with neighbours.

The researchers were also concerned property owners would quit the scheme after the Covid-19 pandemic ended.

A team of researchers from the Open University of Hong Kong and the Lutheran Social Service conducted in-depth interviews with 15 families living in subdivided flats last December to understand their expectations and views on transitional housing.

“Hotels are now willing to lease their units to the government because business is bad during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Professor Charles Kwong Che-leung, dean of arts and social science at the university, said on Thursday. “But after Covid-19, if business goes back to normal, the supply for these units will decrease unexpectedly. Then we will have a problem of sustainability.”

The use of hotels as temporary homes for those waiting a long time for public housing is part of a wider transitional housing scheme, which includes conversion of vacant government buildings and sites donated or cheaply leased by private developers. The government will subsidise construction and renovation costs, while NGOs joining the scheme are responsible for managing the housing premises.