Are you a friendly and helpful neighbour? Do you pay rent on time and care about what goes on in your community? Then you might be able to rent out a flat in Wan Chai’s historic Blue House for a reasonable price (at least, by Hong Kong standards).
St. James’ Settlement (SJS), the charitable NGO which has been entrusted to maintain the “Blue House Cluster” of historical buildings on Stone Nullah Lane, has announced that 12 newly renovated apartments in the cluster will be rented out at lowered rates as part of a “Good Neighbour Scheme”. Six flats in the Blue House (ranging from 629 to 880 square feet) and six flats in the neighbouring Yellow House (ranging from 361 to 409 square feet) will be rented out at rates of HKD11,540 to HKD31,664 per month.
The courtyard between the Blue House and Yellow House. Photo: St. James’ Settlement
Not too shabby, considering that our real estate market was named the most expensive in the world just two weeks ago.
However, anyone who wants to be a tenant in the Blue House Cluster has to play within the Good Neighbour Scheme’s rules. According to SJS, tenants should be kind, supportive of their neighbours, tolerant, respectful, and “keen on practising co-living, community engagement and [a] sharing economy”. Here’s the list of requirements from the “Good Neighbour Scheme for Dummies“:
- Pay a monthly “membership fee” (rent)
- Attend the monthly residents’ meeting
- Sign and comply with the “Good Neighbour” resident licence and charter
- Actively build a community
- Share life experiences and skills
Finally, the application procedure requires potential tenants to attend one briefing, one workshop, and submit their CV, application form, and answer a few written questions. While this might seem like an unusually extensive vetting procedure, we get it. SJS is looking to build a community in a historically and culturally significant place; the low rent is to attract great people who may have otherwise been priced out, not cheapskates just looking to snag a nice flat and keep to themselves.
The interior of a flat in the Yellow House (L) and the bathroom of a flat in the Yellow House (R) Photos: St. James’ Settlement
The Blue House, which derives its name from its vivid azure walls, is a Grade I historic Lingnan-style tenement building (“tong lau”) which dates back to the 1920s. Featuring a blend of Western and Chinese architectural styles (which were retained, thank goodness), it’s one of the few remaining balcony-type tong laus in Hong Kong and was renovated as part of a HKD100 million plan, between the Housing Society and Urban Renewal Authority, to preserve nine old Chinese-style buildings in the district.
This is the government’s first tong lau revitalisation project that has retained the building’s residential purpose and, as a result, the residents who lived in the Blue House before its renovation have not been uprooted. (Huzzah!) Previously, the Green House, a 1950s tong lau in Wan Chai, was converted into the Comix Homebase gallery and studio, while the former Police Married Quarters in Sheung Wan were converted into shopping centre/creative hub PMQ.
For more info on rent and floorplans for individual flats and application details for the Good Neighbour Scheme, click here.
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