Rental contract and fapiao questions

[zhameng]

Hi all,

I have two questions and was hoping someone might be able to give me some advice...

In Beijing, is it normal to have to pay an additional fee to the rental agency if a tenant wants to extend a rental contract into the second year? Just want to make sure I'm not being taken...

2. If I can't get a rental fapiao from the landlord or from the rental agency, is there anywhere else or other way to get a reasonably legal rental fapiao?

Many thanks! : )

[Yang Rui]

Can't answer your first question (although my intial thought is no - if you are extending your stay the rental agency has to do no extra work and so wouldn't need to charge any more fees), but i've had experience with rental fapiao. Generally, you can get a rental fapiao from the agency, but you have to pay 5% of the monthly rent to get the fapiao. This is because most landlords don't pay tax and therefore don't receive official fapiao from the tax office. Therefore you have to pay the tax for them in order to get the fapiao. I know it's crazy, but that's the way it is (at least was last year). If you're getting a tax deduction from your salary on the basis of this fapiao, it is still worth paying the 5% charge. You can just walk into the agency, ask for a fapiao, and it will come through within a couple of days.

[zhameng]

Thanks Yang Rui for your response!

Landlord seems to want to avoid the tax office

Agent will provide no fapiao without a new contract + their fees

Superb sculduggery all round!

[mr.stinky]

experience in kunming is only pay the agency fee one time. the landlord apparently

pays a small commission to the agent for handling the property, in addition to the

one month's rent paid by the tenant as agency fee.

so during the first contract when the new digital tv came in, i paid the deposit at the

rental agent and got a receipt, then for renewal of lease also paid the rent there, both

times getting a receipt. there was no 5% additional fee for the receipt, but things

are done differently in kunming, so....

if you don't get a receipt, you'll be leaving yourself open for potential future problems.

definitely get some proof of payment, or could find yourself homeless when the

landlord realizes he can double the rent for newcomers, or needs a place for his

mistress.

[cdn_in_bj]

so during the first contract when the new digital tv came in, i paid the deposit at the

rental agent and got a receipt, then for renewal of lease also paid the rent there, both

times getting a receipt. there was no 5% additional fee for the receipt, but things

are done differently in kunming, so....

if you don't get a receipt, you'll be leaving yourself open for potential future problems.

definitely get some proof of payment, or could find yourself homeless when the

landlord realizes he can double the rent for newcomers, or needs a place for his

mistress.

A written receipt of payment is a must, and is legally binding. The tax receipt is only useful for claiming a deduction against your income tax.

Legally-speaking, you shouldn't have to pay extra to get a tax receipt (in effect, paying the rental tax that the landlord should be paying) but that's how things currently work. Though apparently they've linked the government systems (tax bureau and PSB) and these landlords won't be able to get away with tax evasion for much longer.