Explore each chapter to understand the effort, benefits and context.
The measure here is money. Deposits and agents are common sources of rental losses. For buyers, major costs include mortgage interest and facts the seller knows but you do not. The legal rules and public services in this chapter apply in China.
Write down how much the deposit is, when it is returned and what deductions are permitted before signing. The landlord cannot invent an unjustified deduction at move-out that the contract did not provide for.
Chinese regulations prohibit landlords from using violence, threats or other unlawful methods to force termination or eviction. Report utility cutoffs, lock changes or threats; the police attendance record can support a later damages claim. Avoid physical confrontation.
Under China's rules, real-estate brokerage agencies cannot collect or remit housing rent and deposits. Pay the landlord directly. Passing money through an agent adds a risk that it disappears, leaving you out of pocket and facing a demand to leave. Match the payee to the title holder.
A modest annual-prepayment discount can be outweighed by losing the deposit and many months of unused rent if the company fails. A rental loan is worse: the apartment operator may vanish while your monthly loan repayments continue. Check its published supervised account before signing.
Under Chinese law, a change of owner during a valid tenancy does not invalidate the lease. The new owner must honor its remaining term and agreed rent. Keep the contract, payment records and proof of when you lawfully took possession.
Two common serious losses come from paying someone who is not the owner and renting a property already mortgaged and later seized. Check the property registration and encumbrances at the local real-estate registry. Transfer rather than pay cash, with a memo such as “September rent for [address]”; it becomes direct evidence in a dispute.
A home payment of hundreds of thousands to millions of RMB is among this book's largest single transactions. Under Chinese rules, an agency handling it must use its dedicated client transaction-settlement bank account; do not transfer through WeChat to an individual broker. Two agencies sharing one deal may charge only one transaction's commission. Mortgage and registration services need separate contracts and advance fee disclosure.
Chinese rules use an originally designed room as the minimum rental unit. Kitchens, bathrooms, balconies and basement storerooms cannot be rented for habitation. Enforcement can leave tenants needing to move. A landlord also cannot arbitrarily raise rent during the term.