Tenants of a youth hostel in Causeway Bay facing closure have been given more time to find a new home.

The BeLIVING Youth Hub on Morrison Hill Road, operated by the Hong Kong United Youth Association, was the first project of a government subsidy scheme under which NGOs rent hotels and guesthouses for use as youth hostels.

Residents have been told by the association that they should leave by the end of next month after the lease wasn't extended. It also decided to waive the rents for February.

Alex Yeung, the association's former chairman and the hostel's representative, on Friday said the landlord – Gale Well Group – has agreed to extend the deadline by one month.

"We are so pleased that our landlord has granted us an extra month for the tenants before they vacate... from February 28 to March 31, because we have considered Chinese New Year in between, and the whole timing has been a little too rushed," Yeung said.

"This can't be infinite... I think this one month will be very useful for all parties."

The association was notified by Gale Well Group at the end of last year that it would not renew the lease as the landlord looked to sell the property.

The premises provides 97 rooms, serving about 200 people since its launch in 2023.

The operator did not say how many people are staying there at the moment.

The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau said the NGO has been helping tenants find new accommodation and called on the association to continue to work towards meeting their housing needs.

Half of the tenants have applied for other hostels, according to the bureau, with those operators expediting their applications for a "seamless transition".