Homelessness in Hong Kong

Homelessness in Hong Kong often hides in plain sight. A walk through Central or Causeway Bay during the middle of the day appears lively and bustling, with almost no signs of people experiencing homelessness. It is at night in the quiet corners of parks and 24-hour fast food restaurants, where people rest their heads to catch some sleep for the night. 

Hong Kong’s skyline glitters with wealth. But it is also a city known for its steep inequality, with housing prices rising by 239% between 2004 and 2021, while real wages only increased by 7%. This illustrates just how challenging it is for the ordinary person to put a roof over their head and simply stay afloat. For those waiting for government housing, the average wait time now stretches to beyond five years, and more than 220,000 people live in subdivided flats, with rooms so small that they are often described as “coffin homes”. Living conditions in these places are extremely poor, with thin walls, no windows, and shared toilets between potentially hundreds of people. 

Luckily, during one of my summer breaks, I had the experience of working at a Transitional Housing Scheme in Hong Kong, which aims to alleviate this issue by providing a more affordable and short-term housing option compared to the typical private home to people waiting for government housing. Demand for these schemes was sky-high, with multiple sets of potential tenants coming in on a daily. Assisting the interview and touring process helped me learn a lot more about the stories of individuals who were applying to live in Transitional Housing.

The two main areas in which we conducted our food distributions were in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) and Sham Shui Po. Though separated by barely four kilometers, the contrast between them could not be starker. Individuals experiencing homelessness in TST rest near MTR exits or by shopfronts. Many have jobs during the day and spend the night in relatively safer and well-lit spaces, most notably in front of the Hong Kong Cultural Center. Over in Sham Shui Po, the streets are far less forgiving. It is one of the poorest districts of the city, filled with subdivided flats and aging buildings. Around the Tung Chau Street Park, the homeless community suffers from major health conditions and drug addictions, compounded by a lack of government action in this area. 

Much of Hong Kong’s housing crisis stems from how land is owned and developed. All land in Hong Kong technically belongs to the government, which then leases it to private developers. Over the decades, four powerful families in Hong Kong: Li (Cheung Kong Holdings), Kwok (Sun Hung Kai Properties), Lee (Henderson Land), and Cheng (New World Development) have come to dominate over the real-estate market. Their control gives them an enormous influence over supply and pricing. This heavily concentrated market structure and a lack of competition cause inflated prices and a lack of social housing priorities. 

Ending homelessness in Hong Kong requires policy change and more affordable housing. It is something that, if we put our minds toward it, and society stops treating it as an “inevitable” situation, we can absolutely fix in the long term. 

Works Cited:

1. M. B. Wong, The Housing Crisis in Hong Kong, 2022. https://mbwong.com/pdf/Housing_Crisis.pdf

2. Government of Hong Kong, Housing in Hong Kong Factsheet, 2023. https://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/housing.pdf

3. Olsen, R. (2017). Hong Kong’s Richest Men Prove Resilient Against Property Curbs. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-16/hong-kong-s-richest-men-prove-resilient-against-property-curbs