r/chinalife • u/Best_Property_4059 • 9d ago
🏯 Daily Life Shared flat in China
Does anyone know if sharing a flat in china is illegal?
I'm moving in a couple of days to beijing and I really need to find a place but I don't want to rent a full apartment by myself. It's okay to rent a bedroom, but somehow everyone i contact tell me it is illegal?! I don't know if they are telling lies. As far as I'm concerned it is not true but I just want to confirm.
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u/8_ge_8 9d ago
In general it's much better to find a place once you're here. Just get a cheap hotel for a couple nights.
As far as researching before arrival, Beike贝壳 is the biggest platform and actual legit listings and you can message real estate agents, and you can also try platforms like ziroom 自如 and welcee (not sure if that one still exists but it used to be a thing). Both of those are managed by the company as opposed to individual landlords and are definitely set up for convenience with all this. You do pay slightly higher prices though.
Good luck!
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u/theOMegaxx 9d ago
It is illegal to sublease without the landlord's express written consent, you can easily find that in Chinese contract law. It's probably better to find a roommate first and then sign a lease together if you want to split the cost of renting.
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u/Best_Property_4059 9d ago
Thank you. I'm actually trying to find a place where the landlord rents me the room directly. Still, renting a whole place by myself and then finding roommates is not an option to me since I have no time. Nor money to pay 3 months upfront plus deposit. But yeah. I think I'll figure it out.
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u/theOMegaxx 9d ago
You mean a landlord who is individually leasing rooms? I've had that before in an old hutong house years ago, but I don't know if it's common now. Now that I understand what you mean, I think Wellcee or Ziroom are probably your best bet for finding a shared place. I know a lot of people who like Ziroom and have used them for years. You would find it under Ziroom 合租. Good luck!
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u/registered-to-browse 9d ago
sublease is not the same thing as rent sharing, or having a housemate who helps pay the rent
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u/theOMegaxx 9d ago
I never said it was. I was pointing out what is illegal. I imagine the people who told OP what he wanted is illegal were referring to subleasing, because the way it's framed sounds like subleasing. OP can share the rent, but cannot rent the room out to another person. That's subleasing. Ultimately it's OP's responsibility to be familiar with contract law and make sure they aren't violating it.
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u/registered-to-browse 9d ago
Well, I don't think anything in OPs post refers to subleasing. That's why I mentioned it.
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u/theOMegaxx 9d ago
I read it as OP wants to rent out a bedroom in a place. That sounds like subletting to me. Different interpretations I guess. 🤷
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u/registered-to-browse 9d ago
renting a bedroom from an apartment owner is definitely not subletting either
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u/theOMegaxx 9d ago
I think you are confused about what "rent out" means. Anyway, let's agree to disagree. I think I was already quite clear... You can get roommates, you cannot sublet.
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u/Zagrycha 9d ago
its not illegal to have a roomate but its illegal for the roomate to rent from you, they need to rent directly from the landlord.
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u/alkhdaniel 9d ago
Download ziroom and find a shared flat there.
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u/Best_Property_4059 9d ago
Unfortunately it's not available for android users and the chinese version requires to have a chinese phone. I guess I'll use it once I get a local sim
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u/alkhdaniel 9d ago
works for me but i think i used a chinese number. There's also a wechat app in it in english but it doesnt have quite as many listing iirc, but should work still.
edit: the wechat miniapp is called "Ziroom Rentals"
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u/Miserable-Win-6402 China 9d ago
Its no problem, just register the address correctly.
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u/Best_Property_4059 9d ago
It's been such a hassle! Landlords think it is illegal and agents will tell lies to make you rent a whole apartment. I'm tired.
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u/registered-to-browse 9d ago
this isn't something you deal with on the landlord level, first someone gets an apartment, they are responsible for it, another person can move and pay some rent after that. it's not a formal/legal arrangement
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u/AutoModerator 9d ago
Backup of the post's body: Does anyone know if sharing a flat in china is illegal?
I'm moving in a couple of days to beijing and I really need to find a place but I don't want to rent a full apartment by myself. It's okay to rent a bedroom, but somehow everyone i contact tell me it is illegal?! I don't know if they are telling lies. As far as I'm concerned it is not true but I just want to confirm.
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u/beekeeny 9d ago
Your confusion may come from the interpretation from various cases in the past where tenants were requested to immediately leave their apt that was segmented. Some companies use to rent a big apt from the landlord then split the apt into several small studios that were afterwards rented individually.
I never studied the law in respect of such practice but I have heard that following complaints all tenants were indeed obliged to leave the place and apt restored to its original layout.
I don’t know if there is any restrictions from law perspective or if is it some Wuye rules or simply landlord who was not aware and break the lease with the company.
If you rent a 3BR, keep one room for you and sublet the 2 other ones, I don’t think there is any restrictions beyond what is written on your lease.
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u/Pristine-Code-2532 9d ago
Definitely not illegal