No Basis for Ziroom to Refuse Rentals to Foreigners During the Pandemic: What to Do

Joey Knotts, Contributing Editor | Mar 24, 2020 8:30 am | 1 comment | 4295 reads

Recently, a number of expats have reported being told by Ziroom agents that the company will no longer be extending or signing new foreigners during the coronavirus situation. The Beijinger was able to confirm that the apartment rental giant has not been subject to any official policy to that effect, but rather, some individual communities and landlords have made it prohibitively difficult for the company’s agents to secure new housing contracts for foreigners.

According to the head of Ziroom’s international department, Jack Balavadze, foreigners should have no trouble extending their contracts with Ziroom.

Balavadze says that his department staff is working around the clock to help out Ziroom’s foreign tenants through the pandemic, and that, fortunately, things seem to be improving as both communities and officials are starting to soften policies in all respects. 

He also emphasizes that the company is able to freely rent out the apartments in its Jiangtai-located building, which it owns outright.

However, enough foreigners are still being denied contracts that renters should be aware of the issue and be prepared to seek out alternatives should the need arise.

Why foreigners may face troubles when renting an apartment

On Mar 15, the Beijing Municipal Committee of Housing and Construction released a notice advising landlords who rent out apartments on how to ensure safety when signing a contract with a new lessee. The notice advised that new lessees should provide proof of health via the Beijing Jiankangbao app, but in a slight oversight, the notice neglected to provide an alternative for foreign tenants, who are currently unable to log into the app without a Chinese ID number.

In addition, contracts must be valid for a minimum of six months and must be registered with the Beijing Commission on Housing and Urban-Rural Development, which may yield extra hoops for lessers to jump through.

Where else to rent an apartment

If an agent or landlord decides that it’s too much trouble to rent to you, there’s only one thing to do: move on. 

Consider using some of the following resources to find an apartment instead:

READ: Landlords Should Offer Grace Period if Lease Expires During Outbreak

Image: John Salvino (via Unsplash)

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tomarnstein's picture tomarnstein Submitted by Guest on Wed, 03/25/2020 - 15:17

[UPDATE: Mar 25, 3pm] Jack Balavadze, head of Ziroom's international department (also quoted in the article above), posted the following message in a Ziroom WeChat group.

Hope you are all well. After a long two month of epidemic period, it seems to be close to end in China. Though, I am so sorry for many overseas countries where the epidemic just broke out and is still on the rise. Hope we all will get back to normal life shortly.  

I am Jack, head of International Department at ZIROOM. I asked my colleague to add me on to this group to personally share/hear your problems/needs/wants to help you out within the competency of the company through our best efforts.    

Let me address some of the prevailing questions you may have:

1) Can ZIROOM rent an apartment to foreigners during the epidemic?

Absolutely yes! Though, regulations are stricter for foreigners at the moment since number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 are increasing overseas; for this reason - district governments/local community management teams want to fully make sure that every expat residing in the community has not traveled overseas recently, and, if she/he has, then they want to see the proof of 14 days quarantine passage certificate issued by the customs authority. (Stamped and signed)  

For the time being, we have designated communities where we can help foreign customers to sign a contact and move in a community/apartment without any problem at all. However, we are still limited to some extent due to local communities’ policies. Also, we have some rooms available at ZIROOM JiangTai building which we own and manage outright.   

2) Did your landlord ask you to move out of the apartment before your contract expires? 

There are two things to do: A) Ask your landlord to explain to you the reason why you have to move out of the apartment. B) Call your Z-Organizer (agent) for help. There is no legal basis to move out of your room before the contract expires unless you have recently traveled overseas and do not hold a certificate of 14 days quarantine passage. As a last resort you may go to nearby hospital and get a quick body checkup to obtain health certificate which will reduce the reasons of moving out to zero [this is an official policy we can rely on at the moment]. In an extreme case, if the landlord still insists on a tenant to move out of the apartment then our Z-organizers will try to get you a new room/apartment within optimal time frame.

P.s Some landlords are prohibitively pressured by the local communities so they try to avoid additional problems and directly asking foreign tenants to move out of the apartment. Though, if the tenants meet the official policy requirements, there is no legal basis for landlords to push the tenants to that extent before the expiration date of the contract (unless the official policy changes).

3) What if I am overseas but my contact has not expired yet?

There is no problem to keep your contract going. There is no threat that anyone will move your stuff out of the apartment.  

Managing Editor, the Beijinger

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