BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Beijing housing chiefs are planning to revise the rules for landlords and rental agencies, which could shake up the sector and better protect tenants, insiders say.
The commission of c and urban-rural development opened the debate over the existing regulation, in effect since 2001, by soliciting comments on its website last month.
More than 520 proposals were submitted, most of them concerning rental agencies, including complaints of bad or lax management, fee increases and safety concerns.
The authority said it is now discussing suggestions with police and lawyers.
"This revision is definitely needed," said Wang Qi, a police officer in Haidian district's Huaqingyuan community.
In China, police are responsible for housing registrations and are often required to step in to help mediate civil disputes between landlords and tenants.
"It's hard to enforce (the regulation) now because many articles in it are just 'in principle'," Wang said.
For example, it is against the rules to divide residential rooms into apartments. "But I can't fine landlords who do it because the regulation doesn't give me the power. All I can do is try to persuade them it's wrong."
In addition, he added, "it's rare to see the commission punish them (landlords), so they often escape responsibility".
Potential dangers
Wang, like all community police officers, is required to collect the IDs of all residents in his jurisdiction - more than 2,000 households. Yet attempts to get data from rental agencies can be fruitless.
"I learned quickly that agencies can be pretty careless in verifying the identities of the people they rent to, as well as the private landlords they do business with," he said.
Rental agencies are not required by law to do background checks on tenants, which legal experts say could prevent potential problems.
Huang Yan, a prosecutor for Beijing's Xicheng district, estimated that 20 percent of her caseload last year involved crimes carried out in rented homes, twice as much as 2011.
"I can't say all these cases occurred because of agencies, but many had something to with their lax registration procedures and failures to update client information" she said.
Among the most common offenses at rental properties are theft, intentional injury and rape, she added.
Zhang Kai at Le'anjia Real Estate, which has branches in several cities, insisted his company asks all clients to supply an ID card, which is then verified by the police.
"Our rules are strict. We call clients regularly to update our records and police visit our offices every three months," he said, although he conceded not all agencies are as thorough. "I agree we need to revise the regulation."
Safety concerns
The problem is not only in Beijing. Huang Xiaoqi, a graduate in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, has been worried about renting since hearing horror stories of violent housemates.
To ease her mind, the 23-year-old asked her agency to show her copies of the property owner's ID and information on the tenants.
"I wanted to know more before I signed up, but the agency said they couldn't provide the details," she said. "They told me they wouldn't even show me if disputes arose between me and another housemate."
Beijing prosecutor Huang Yan said the revised regulation should take tenants concerns and advice into consideration, and make clear the responsibilities of agencies, making them more like hotels, where guests must show an ID at check-in to be verified.
Wang Leigang, a judge at Haidian District People's Court, agreed and suggested the best way to bring the rental industry in line is to set up a channel for information exchange among police, agencies and the housing commission.
Previously, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development had explored how to manage rental properties with other departments, but it did not work out, said a city publicity official who did not want to be identified.
"We hope to improve measures and clarify the regulations this time," she said, although she declined to give a date for when the revision may be finalized.
For 22-year-old civil servant Chen Chaoyi, however, the changes cannot come soon enough.
"Due to poor management by agencies, and the unsafe environment I've found myself in because of it, I've had to move three times in two years," he said.
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