Form of Temporary Residence problems: landlord is evading tax

[roddy]

I was going to post pretty much what Gougou said - first step, just go and try and register. There's every chance it'll be done and there's nothing to worry about. The info your university has given you isn't really valid - they don't know which police stations off-campus students have to register at.

The only other thing I'd say is if the police are asking for more documents, see if you can't put them off. Say the landlord lives out of town and can't reach him, you dealt with some 18 year old kid at the agency who hasn't really got a clue what any of these documents are, etc. They may well just roll their eyes and register you, especially if you go back a couple of days in a row pleading helplessness. Incidentally, I'm not sure I'd take a Chinese friend to translate. There may well be points where you don't want to understand the request for further documents...

i wouldn't hold out much hope of the agency being nice to you as they're scared of the police.

Also as Gougou says - if you do "win" by using the police to beat down the agency and landlord - good luck getting any repairs done, and don't expect your deposit back. You will not be popular.

[Ludens]

Thanks a lot guys! I just went to the local PSB and said I wanted to register. They only asked for my passport and contract; after 10 minutes they came out with the form of temporary residence. No other questions asked (i've moved in a week ago). I went to a very small PSB in Xicheng, not sure if they are used to handling these things for foreigners. Anyway, I might have just been lucky, but I'm really glad this was so much easier than I thought.

My only minor worry is that they somehow are going to check if the landlord is paying tax.

I would not pay any additional fees to the agent, nor would I pay tax unless provided with an official rent receipt. Also, tax is 5% if I remember correctly, so unless you pay 10,000 kuai a month, the 6,000 quoted by your agent seems to be a made-up figure.

I haven't payed any agency fees, I've found the room online, the agency is earning from renting the rooms, not through fees. How much they are earning a month I'm not quite sure of, there are 5 or 6 more rooms being rented, I guess the total rent is about 7500.

After getting my residence permit I'll have to re-register, but I guess that now that I'm already registered here that won't be a problem.

[roddy]

Glad that worked out. Enjoy Beijing...

[roddy]

Oh, and actually - could you stick a post in here. I suspect you've got one of the cheaper homes in Beijing, would be an interesting addition.

[icebear]

Oh, and actually - could you stick a post in here. I suspect you've got one of the cheaper homes in Beijing, would be an interesting addition.

I second that. Also, if you have any information you'd like to add to this post that would be great (I'll update the top post to reflect so). It'd be good for the housing information to be well rounded for different types of housing searches, and I haven't seen many posts from people that searched for shared rooms, all with Chinese, at the size you mention.

[roddy]

Something I'll add now - I didn't earlier as I thought it was unlikely and there wasn't much point to adding the extra worry: I wouldn't have been too surprised if the police had taken a look at a newly-arrived foreigner, in a cheap shared apartment with random Chinese people, and decided that it just wasn't going to be allowed. They can sometimes take it upon themselves to ensure foreigners' accommodation is safe, and this might not have met their (arbitrary, made-up as they go along) standards.

[gougou]

I've actually had an agent decide that for me too, once - I think he might have been worried about registration and extra vigilance by officials as well.

[knickherboots]

Based on an in-person discussion about your issue with my local 派出所 today, I'll have to disagree with icebear and follow the suggestion staff there gave me: contact your local 派出所 and explain the situation to them. Try to get a university staff member to accompany you. This will help to convince police that you have support and are in China legimately.

Staff there told me that it was likely that tax obligations had nothing to do with the landlord's unwillingness to provide the documentation--the landlord may simply want to keep evidence about his or her ownership private. My 派出所 in Chaoyang does not require the contract--it requires a copy of the deed, a copy of the landlord's ID card, and contact numbers for the landlord and tenant. But staff told me that requirements differ based on the office.

Your local police may be sympathetic because you are doing all you can to meet the legal requirement--and maybe a call from them to the agent or landlord is all you need.

Because the landlord is not following the law, you have a good argument for not paying rent. If you haven't paid, just find another place. If you have, ask for your money back. If they don't return it, tell them with a smile that you find their behavior acceptable and move in. Live there until your initial payment and security deposit have been used, and then go elsewhere. Before you go into arrears, change the lock on the door and expect the landlord to try stuff like cutting your electricity. Local police are not going to be sympathetic to your landlord after they recall how he didn't want to go through the registration procedures.

Consider it all a Chinese cultural experience.

[Sarevok]

The requirements really do differ depending on the PSB office, how much sleep the officer got last night and a bunch of other random factors.

When living in Chaoyang last year, I had to bring my contract and passport in original and copy (made in advance, as they couldn't make the copies at the PSB ). My friend living in Dongcheng just goes to his local PSB office with his passport only - he has been living there for quite some time now and they already know him.

I was quite surprised yesterday, when registering for the first time here in Yanjiao (technically Hebei, but close enough with just under-an-hour bus ride from Guomao and many Beijingers living here). I walked in with just my passport and nothing else, expecting to walk out empty handed but informed about what kind of documents would my landlord have to send over from Anhui... and they registered me just like that, taking my word on the adress and the name of the landlord, even made the copies by themselves...