Apartments for group of renters

An apartment for group of renters in Beijing.

Apartments for group of renters (群租房 qun zu fang), have been very popular in large Chinese cities in recent years. Estate owners rent out their apartments with bunk beds after wantonly changing the structure and layout of the apartments. They are more like family-operated hotels, which have over-occupied public resources, such as elevators, water and wireless network, in residential areas.

Wantonly changing the structure and layout of apartments is illegal in China. However, due to cheap prices and convenient locations, the wantonly changed apartments have been attracting large crowds of people with low-incomes, mainly college students and migrant workers.

The Beijing Daily reported on July 15, 2013 that more than two-dozen people have been found living in an 80-square-meter two-bedroom apartment in a residential building near Beijing's Central Business District (CDB). The twenty-five renters had been using 26 bunk beds. The apartment had a monthly price tag of over 8,000 yuan (US$1,303), but landlords were getting 20,000 yuan (US$3,258) per month from 25 people.

Although renters have to deal with two-hour wait for a shower, crowded space, dirty conditions and fire hazards, many choose to stay. Li Lei, 22, who works at a trading company near the CBD, said that he is willing to pay the monthly 800 yuan (US$130) for rent, which could be up to 4,000 yuan if he was splitting an apartment with another person.

Some house owners and intermediaries use unqualified, non-fireproofed materials when changing the structure and layout of apartments. In addition to complex personnel and poor management, the apartments have posed a series of hidden dangers to the environment, fire control and security.

The phenomenon is illegal but difficult to punish. "In accordance with the law, we can't just rush in and examine their rooms," said an official from the Guangzhou Fire Detachment. "We can only supervise and urge real estate departments to timely examine and find problems, or arouse citizens to report offenses."

Government's responses

In August 2007, the Shanghai Municipal Housing, Land and Resource Bureau announced that it had made amendments to the 2005 version of the Provisional Landlord Regulations. New regulations for the shared rental of apartments stated that each private apartment could now only be rented out to a single individual or a family.

On July 18, 2013, the Beijing Municipal Government issued regulations stating that the per capita renting space can't be less than 5 square meters; each single room can't be rented out to more than two people; a room can't be divided and rented out according to bunk beds; kitchen, bathroom, balcony and underground storage room are not subject to rental. If landlords are found to be involved in severe violations, they will be fined from 5,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan, local housing management authorities said.