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48/ Our Community

iana Li, a student from the ments. lish and our Cantonese is not good
City University of Hong Like many international students enough either. Hence, we cannot
DKong (CityU) who came coming to study in Hong Kong, Li communicate easily when we have
from the Mainland is forced to share craves for living with her fellows to sign a lease,” she says.
a 675-square-foot flat with five other on campus. “Many students want Li adds that many landlords do
students as they all fail to get hostel to live on campus, but there is not not like renting their properties to
places on campus. And instead of enough supply.” students. “We always rent a flat to-
paying the rent monthly, they had gether to share rent. Landlords are
to pay nearly HK$ 400,000 to their Living Off-campus worried that we might mess up their
landlord who required them to set- Failing to get hostel places com-
tle a year’s rent in one go. pels Li and many other international
“Since students do not have sta- students to rent a place off-campus
ble work and income, landlords usu- to solve their accommodation needs.
ally ask us to pay one-year rent in a It took Li a long time to find her
lump sum,” the Year 3 student ma- flat in Parc Oasis, which is not far
joring in Finance says. “Paying such away from her university in Kow-
amount all at once is a huge burden loon Tong. But communicating with
for our parents,” Li says, but she has landlords is a problem. “Many land-
no choice as landlords tend to worry lords, especially the older ones, can- Outside Li’s flat in Parc Oasis. (Photo
about students delaying their pay- not understand Mandarin and Eng- courtesy of Diana Li)