Landlady removed furniture after we signed the contract

[theduckopera]

On Monday, we signed our rental contract for an apartment, and the deal was that it was signed as-is, and we'd move in yesterday (Friday).

When we arrived yesterday , the landlady had switched the TV out for a much cheaper one, removed the nice set of three sofas and replaced them with one old dingy one.

We have lots of witnesses who saw the apartment at the signing - real estate agents that are on our side, my partner and myself. Our contract specifically makes note of 3 sofas, although it doesn't specify the size/brand of the tv. We also have photos of the apartment and all the furniture from beforehand, and the landlady specifically said she'd be leaving the TV and couches there.

We bugged our agent to call her and sort out the issue, but she just said that she'd moved the sofas to another apartment and wasn't going to move them back. He says he called her again today and she refused to speak to him.

I guess I might be out of luck with the TV, because it's not specified in the contract, but at the very least we should be able to get the sofas back, right?

Is there anything we can do to force her to comply with the contract? I'm willing to consider legal action, but don't know how to go about getting a lawyer and so on.

[edelweis]

I'm afraid there's not much you can do about it... do you really want to waste time and energy over this?

How many months did you pay in advance?

How come she was able to move the couches, didn't she give you the keys when you signed the contract?

[Tako]

Sorry to hear that. One thing that's good to remember is that usually the agents jobs (no matter what they say) is more or less finished as soon as you have payed them the agent fee. So their help is limited, therefore it is advisable to be in direct contact with the landlord if you really want something done. Good luck!

[anonymoose]

Not the best situation to be in. Unfortunately it doesn't seems like there's going to be any easy way out, but if you think sticking up for principle is worth the hassle, you could change the lock on the front door (will cost about 100 yuan), and just not pay next time it the rent is due. You won't get your deposit back, but if you can stay there for a month without paying rent, at least you won't have lost anything. Of course, the worry is you don't know how the landlady will respond.

By the way, since the landlady is obviously irrational, be prepared not to get your deposit back at the end anyway. It wouldn't susprise me if she uses the sofas being missing as an excuse to not return the deposit.

[abcdefg]

What city?

[Dazza]

Wow.... Is there anyway to safeguard yourself against this kind of thing? Are you allowed to put photos on a contract?

[frankwall]

Unfortunate situation and it seems like there isn't much you can do. I would be be careful - it appears that the landlady deliberately misled you and this could just be the start. Did you pay rent up front? If she is unwilling to deal with you over the sofas, she may also try to pull something else like taking your money. Perhaps it might be a good idea to look for something else.

[gougou]

Yeah, I also found out that having a good landlord trumps having a nice flat. And it is possible - there's some good examples of nice landlords in this thread.

In a situation like this, I'd probably try anonymoose's suggestions; legal action certainly wouldn't be worth the effort for a few couches. Especially if you haven't paid the agency fee yet (which I wouldn't do until I'm happily settled into my place), you still have some leverage on the agent.

As a general rule, for transactions in China (or anywhere, I guess), delay payment for as long as seems necessary/possible. As long as the cash is in your pocket, you still can influence the outcome - once money got handed over, it'll become a lot harder. (Don't abuse it though - a lot of taxi drivers get ripped off because they're in the weaker bargaining position.)

[Kenny同志]

Two things you can do about the situation.

Call 110 and see if they can do anything to help you.

Tell the woman that you will post her dishonest means and personal details (name, address), together with a photocopy of the contract, and photos of the apartment that were taken before she moved the sofas and TV set out, onto the Internet if she doesn’t comply with the contract.

They don't guarantee anything though.