Guangdong Shenzhen University plans to rent a residential community with an average unit price of about 8 million yuan on the market as a dormitory for graduate students, intending to accommodate its full-time graduate students of the 2026 class. This move quickly sparked strong opposition from the owners of the community, with some owners expressing unwillingness to have their community labeled as a “dormitory.”
According to reports from multiple Chinese media outlets, Shenzhen University recently issued a notice to the full-time graduate students of the 2026 class indicating that students at the Li Lake campus will be uniformly arranged for off-campus accommodation, with the location tentatively set in the “Hanyuan Mingyuan” area of Xili District in Nanshan District, and the accommodation fees will be implemented according to the school’s unified regulations. The average listing price of second-hand houses in the community is about 66,000 yuan per square meter, with most units being large units of over 100 square meters, and the total price of a single suite generally exceeding 8 million yuan.
However, the leasing plan that has not yet been formally implemented by the university has encountered concentrated opposition from the group of owners. Several owners have expressed that the community already has a higher plot ratio, and if nearly a thousand students are concentrated, public resources such as elevators, parking spaces, fitness facilities, etc., will face significant pressure. Some owners explicitly stated that they do not want their community to be labeled as a “dormitory” and are concerned about the property value and living quality being compromised.
The focus of controversy lies not only in the “pricing label” but also in the manner of use. According to the university’s customary practice, graduate student dormitories are mostly shared by 3 to 5 people. If calculated based on three people per room, a four-bedroom unit could potentially accommodate more than ten people. Owners are generally worried that this could bring about issues such as concentrated daily routines, peak travel times, management of electric vehicles, noise, takeaway trash, etc., which could impact community order and pose potential fire hazards.
Investigations show that the planned rental housing this time is not inventory commercial housing from developers but an entire property of return housing held by local village collective enterprises. Informed sources revealed that the project is still in the early stages of communication and has not been finalized. As of the time of reporting, the university, relevant streets, and enterprises have not issued an official response.
Analysis of the report points out that this “Shen Da storm” is not an isolated case, but reflects the deeper contradictions between the nationwide expansion of universities, socialization of logistical services policy, and the increasingly tense urban development space.