What are the rules and security in your apartment block?

[feebie]

I have been living in my apartment for 6 months now

Anyway, lately I have been asked to sign something

which I had to get translated. It was about safety

all fair enough

* be careful not to start a fire

* don't start a fight

* don't break the law etc etc

one rule I don't like

" Don't bring any friends to your apartment at night"

Also a new flatmate moved in the other day. She had a lot of stuff and the guard tried to charge her 10 yuan for everytime she used the elevator!!!!!!!!!!!

She rang our landlord who said there is no such rule

The security usually stop my friends from entering and I have to come down and approve their entry.

Anyway just wondering what rules other people have in their apartments?

Is everywhere like this?

I am considering moving. I am an adult. I might get boyfriend and I don't want hassles. Does anyone know any buildings in Wudaokou where there are less hassles?

What sort of security procedures? Do your friends get stopped from entering etc

[gougou]

The complex I live in now is quite nice and used to be managed by the Lidu property management company (until property management started changing every two months). Recently, they installed a key card system for the outside gates. The rule there seems to be that if you have a foreign face, they'll open the door for you no matter whether you live there or not.

Was it the property management company that asked you to sign these rules? Do they still own the apartment? It surprises me that they have/claim the right to govern who stays in your apartment over night.

[feebie]

I live in a university

I think the apartments are the retired lecturers

I don't study at this university I rent the apartment off a private landlord

It was a security guard that asked me

and I think the office people asked him

Yeah I think it is a bit much they can say I can't have people

stay or visit my apartment at night

Maybe I will just tell the landlord that I am thinking about moving

and he will have a word to the office people

My friends say "just sign it, they won't really do anything and if you get boyfriend bring him over before sunset and say he is your fudao laoshi"

I have signed it but I will avoid giving to them. Maybe I will say I want to talk to my first landlord who visits in March.

What do you think?

Should I just sign ? because they probably won't stop me having friends over at night or a party once in a blue moon

or

Should I not sign?

What happens if I sign and I do have someone over in the evening??

My friend overseas said they might fine me. He said just pay the fine. Anyway - it is weird

[gougou]

I find it less surprising in a university.

I'd also second your friends' advice: sign it and ignore it. Unless you have very noisy parties, it's unlikely anyone's going to care. Just don't bring in friend's under the eyes of the people responsible for this rule, as the loss of face wouldn't go down well with them.

Also, don't start fires.

[mr.stinky]

so why sign it? just because someone hands you a paper and says put your name on it?

what are the penalties - if any - for not signing?

[gougou]

I would sign in just to give some mianzi - they are happy that I signed, and I'll continue to receive friends whenever I feel like it and be happy, too.

[heifeng]

one rule I don't like

" Don't bring any friends to your apartment at night"

This is kinda iffy, but it really depends on who's enforcing it and every building is different. It could be quite extreme, such as my friend's apartment. The live in landlady (a 20 something that acted like she's was 60) said straight out that she'd get kicked out if she brought a boy over for the night and even the building would hassle foreigners about visiting at night b/c of the whole registration deal.

We don't have a security guard at my building and I dunno if my own contract even said anything about visitors (I was just desparate to move at the time), but the girl who lives in my apartment and responsible for renting us the rooms (she deals with the landlord directly) lets it slide. Although I don't get any crap from her personally the elevator ayi's are the one's that tell landlord that god forbid, I have visitors come by occasionally at night. However since the ayi's are already familiar with my friends they have lightened up on the gossip reports on their local laowai.

So in conclusion make sure it's not gonna get you kicked out w/o your deposit and get use to using the stairs.

[roddy]

Interesting topic. A brief review of apartments I have known, in chronological order from 2002 onwards, all in Beijing bar the last

Apartment on campus at a minor league college. Nothing was ever said about 'rules' as such, but the campus was gated and you had to wake someone if you were coming back past midnight.

Apartment in large tower block, by no means a posh place - actually at 1600Y a month the cheapest I've ever had, but then it did have lino in the bedroom. Building management was quite strict, which was manifested by the door guards being a bit snappy. Visitors were meant to sign in. Things went a bit mental around SARS (as was normal at the time) and I was threatened with not being able to get back in if I didn't get a 出入证. I got one. Nobody ever asked to see it. Again, you had to wake someone up past midnight.

Apartment in 6-storey danwei style place. This was the first place I actually had freedom to come and go round the clock - buzzer on the main door, and that was it. No specified rules from anyone.

Apartment in new 'expensive' complex. Security guards at the entrances to the complex and sometimes dozing by the door to the actual building, but unless they didn't like the look of you they'd just ignore you. Card entry to the building. There were signs up for a while that it would be necessary to show a card to gain entry to the complex, please go and collect your card from the management. I never did, nobody every asked for it.

Current place in Dalian, similar to the above - 24 hour guards, but card entry.

Never had any problems with visitors, etc, but I think it pays to just be considerate. Certainly the majority of places I've lived have been mainly occupied by either the retired, or the getting-up-early-to-work, and I'll try to keep noise levels down accordingly, etc. There was incident in Beijing when I started watching Band of Brothers at rather loud volume late at night - not sure why - and I got a friendly call from the management saying there had been a complaint, would I mind not being quite such a tit. Fair call.

The stuff about not having friends over, etc, I would just ignore, but at the same time try and make it easier for others also to ignore. Don't let your new flame's first visit coincide with loud music and banging furniture, etc. This is particularly the case in on-campus apartments, I think, where there tends to be a concentration of retired / married with young family university staff. It's easy to get annoyed and think 'it's my apartment', but at the same time others are likely thinking 'but it's our community'. Show consideration for others, but do what you need to do - and deal with problems as they arise.

Oh, and pay the 10Y for the elevator, and then scream and shout for your official tax receipt.

[feebie]

This whole thing is making me angry

1. I feel like I am being treated like a Child

I am not even that young my 18th birthday was a LONG time ago

2. I feel like they don't trust us (foreigners)

but I guess this is typical in many parts of the world

3. I also feel it is none of their business

I guess they are worried that visitors to the building

could be a security risk. Someone could visit

and leave an individual apartment then go

commit a crime. Maybe they could just

make it that I escort my guests from the foyer

to my apartment and visa versa.

That way individual tenants could show some responsiblity for

public safety and yet still be able to cook their friends dinner

So many of my friends have cooked me dinner, let me stay over

when it is too far to travel home, let me stay over when I am unwell

etc......I want to be able to do the same

I don't want to sign it. I want to talk to the landlord and say I am thinking

of moving. I might just say to the security that I will look for another place to live

because I want my friends to come over

[muyongshi]

When I moved from a large complex to a small one I discovered that the security was a bit tighter (partly because they could...) but at a complex never signed anything, they just have slogans posted all over about being a good neighbor etc. and in the 物管 do have the complex rules posted.

However, at uni I have always had to sign codes of conducts, etc. and my friends when the lived at uni (i never had) did have to sign another thing for the housing in terms of "rules".

2. I feel like they don't trust us (foreigners)

but I guess this is typical in many parts of the world

My guess is that you are not the only one they require to sign it, I bet everyone in the complex is "supposed" to sign it. Just let the thing go. It's not worth you getting your britches in a bunch over. As was earlier pointed out it's not like they will care too much about it and you won't (most likely unless you really do something) get kicked out over it. I have been to complex where they don't let anyone up unless someone vouches for them so that is not too unusual either. Also don't move over it... there is no need. Sign it and move on with your life, the repercussions won't be high if at all.

I guess they are worried that visitors to the building

could be a security risk.

That is the whole point...my old big complex, because anyone could come and go there were massive amounts of burglary. You stay at a hotel and on all the doors it's posted to not bring people up to your room that you don't really know, don't open your door, etc.

Seriously, it's not that big of a deal and while I understand your frustration (I would be frustrated too) I personally think you are making a mountain out of a mole hill however if this is that important to you, then by all means move! (and make a lot of fuss on the way out too )

[simonlaing]

I don't think it is about security at all.

It is about the registration of westerners. Since your house is on the campus of the university, the adminstration is responsible for you and any other westerners that come to stay with you. They can be fined by the police (I think 500 yuan) per day if they don't register people.

With the Olympics and BJ image issues this is more strictly enforced there than other cities. Some times I have gotten of with oh they are only staying for the night passing through.

Or they will leave late tonight. But if it is a regular thing , (and because it is on the campus and not off) you will have this problem.

To make matters worse in the old regulations westerners could only rent appartments with guards , (so they could enforce this I think).

Anyway, if you look at it as a responsibility issue rather than a security issue it might help even if it is still annoying.

have fun,

SimoN:)

[muyongshi]

It is about the registration of westerners. Since your house is on the campus of the university, the adminstration is responsible for you and any other westerners that come to stay with you.

If it is about other westerner's staying with her then yes it is about a registration issue but not if it is Chinese.

[zozzen]

Which university hostel are you living now?

I've faced similar situation in Denfeng, Henan. The hostel manager seemed to be curious everything about me. He would knock my door at mid-night endlessly and woke me up, because he only wanted to see how Hong kong people look like--- at mid-night.

In another scene ,when I were urged to go to an airport, a staff also stopped me from leaving there because he claimed that "I need to apply it".

After I explained to them how much I paid to the hostel (that seems to be ridiculous, but the turnover rate at my school is so high that the staff has to be accountable for every student quit. ) and I threatened "給足你面子就不要太過份, 弄得我火了我就把你投訴到校委書記!! ", most problems get solved. If it still doesn't work, just leave them alone, smile, say "hello, have you eaten rice?" and do what you think reasonable. Of course you can also show anger at them, yelling "egg off!" (滾旦), these guys seldom meet conflicts and complaints from young students, they would really egg off in my experience.