Accommodations

Reminders

1. No matter how long you are renting for make sure you sign a contract, otherwise if the landlord suddenly asks you to move out, you will not have any evidence to claim compensation.
2. When signing the contract, be sure to ask the landlord for proof of identity (ID Card), proof of home ownership, housing tax, or an official proof of all the above, in order to confirm that they are the landlord. If it is a sublet then please also request that the principal tenant also produces the original contract to make sure they are allowed to sublet to others.
3. If any changes are made to the contract then both sides must apply their seals or signatures to that clause in order to prevent future disputes.
4. Both the tenant and the landlord should keep a copy of the exact same contract clauses as future proof.
5. As soon as you have moved in please make sure to keep a photographic record of the property, so that you can restore the room back to its orginal set-up when you move out and avoid disputes.

When looking for an apartment, you can use the following questions when meeting a landlord:

1. Does the rent already include the following costs: water, electricity, air-conditioning charges, cable TV, public fees, building management fees?
2. When is the rent payment due? What is the best method of payment?
3. How much is the deposit?
4. What furniture or equipment is included in the room? If you have other needs, will the landlord be able to provide these free of charge?
5. If you are renting a shared apartment (yafang), which common areas are there: bathroom, living room, kitchen?
6. What are the Landlord's requirements: whether they accept both men and women as tenants; keeping pets; scope and use of common areas, if living with the landlord.
7. How old is the property? What materials is the property built with?
8. What are the occupations of the other tenants?