‘Landlords’ doing a foreigner

Deciding where to live is one of the first issues we need to consider when arriving in Shanghai. There are, of course, the needs of being close to work and a metro station, as well as having a home with good air-conditioning.

One might imagine that the worse-case scenario would be living in an inconvenient or uncomfortable apartment. But even worse, a tenant could find themselves unwittingly paying rent to someone other than the official owner of the property, as a recent high-profile story illustrated.

Shanghai media have reported the alleged actions of second-hand landlord, Ryan Fedoruk. The individual in question has not yet been arrested, tried or found guilty of any misdemeanor with regards to renting out apartments in China, and police are still investigating the matter. However, people are coming forward claiming that Fedoruk passed himself off as the genuine landlord of apartments he was actually subletting from their real owners. Some 30 people claim he then absconded with their rent and deposits.

When I arrived in Shanghai, I looked at housing advertisements on craigslist.com, a popular commercial/social networking website. I contacted several renters and met up with one who turned out to be an American, like myself.

When I first met him at his home-office, he was shirtless, a fact which instantly made me uneasy about this prospective "landlord." And he remained topless throughout the interview, which was more of a bragging session in which he told me all about his new apartments and the building he was planning to purchase.

This man left me with a bad impression, so I walked away. After this experience, I asked a Chinese-speaking friend to approach a rental agency on my behalf. And thus far, I have had no problems with the apartment he found for me.

In order to rent out an apartment in Shanghai, a person must be able to show legal ownership, which is why landlords present a certificate of ownership when they sign a contract with a new tenant. Subletting is illegal, in part due to the aforementioned complications, but also because it leads to inflated rents.

And even when a second-hand landlord collects and pays the rent as promised, they are still unnecessarily increasing the cost of an apartment to take their own cut of the deal. When a "landlord" takes his 6,000 yuan ($952) rented apartment and rents it out to three people who pay 4,000 yuan each per month to share the place, the renter has done next to nothing for his or her profit.

When all is said and done, I would warn all newcomers to avoid "landlords" they come across on expat forums or on craigslist.com. I would direct them to go to reputable agencies, who have actual office space, and who put prospective tenants in direct contact with owners who are able to show a genuine certificate of ownership.