New rules will force private hostels for the disabled to close

More than 4,000 Hongkongers call private hostels for disabled people home. They're a place of safety, bringing together people with special needs who may struggle in the community.

"I have never thought of moving out," says one 52-year-old for whom a care home provides a safe place to live while she copes with mental illness. "I share a room with my mother … It's nice," she says as she sits under fruit trees in the front yard of a two-storey country home.

She and her 85-year-old mother have lived there since October, when they were referred by a social worker as their old home was to be demolished.

The hostel is one of 78 private care homes in the city. Like the 200-plus homes subsidised by the government or run by non-governmental organisations, each hostel must obtain a licence to certify its safety and service standards, or a temporary exemption to give it time to bring facilities up to scratch.

The hostels typically offer meals, routine personal care, activities and exercise equipment. They fill a gap in the market at a time when the waiting list for government-subsidised hostels stretches to 10 years or more.

A licensing regime kicks in on June 10, yet, as of the start of this month, only eight private homes had licences. A further 46 were granted exemptions, typically of 12 to 18 months. The home the 52-year-old and her mother live in is among those granted an exemption, with the owner given time to clear up zoning issues and improve buildings.