apartment for rent near HIT

[YingYingz]

HIT

 

I plan to  study in Harbin (HIT) in February 2016. So, I need information about the room rent near the university (HIT)

 

do you all have any recommends apartment for rent? how much does it cost? I plan to study there for one year.

 

thank you for your answer.

 

 

[yhs31217]

There are many apartments in that area

Normally 1000-1800yuan per month for a studio

If you d like to share a 2 bedroom flat

Around 600-1200

You can also use 58同城 for information

A popular web for renting

[eliaso]

Areas around HIT are actually a bit expensive due to it being a very central location and there are also a few good schools in the area so many families like to stay there. You get more bang for your buck if you are willing to commute a little bit.

 

Normal rental contract in Harbin is 6 to 12 months and all of the rent is paid upfront. Better be sure your landlord is a decent person because getting out of your contract and getting your money back would propably be very hard. Paying utilities is your responsibility with the exception of central heating during winters which is your landlords responsibility. If your landlord says otherwise, better find someone else to rent from. After renting, you should go together with your landlord to the local police station to register with your contract and your landlords documents proving he/she actually owns that apartment. This is something that locals often wouldn't do but since it's required by law in case foreigners are renting you simply have to do it(if you want to have your residence permit in order, anyway). This is actually very good for you because the local police station will cross check your landlords documents with their records so you can be sure you are actually dealing with the owners.

 

Apartment buildings in general could be divided into two categories: new tall ones and old 6-8 floors tall soviet style ones. New buildings will naturally be more expensive. Old ones are actually completely ok if you find an apartment where the interior is renovated. Prices in the post above are correct. However - an apartment costing 1000 rmb a month will be pretty bad. A decent one (old building, renovated, some furniture, washing machine/fridge/hot water in the bathroom) will cost at least 1200-1400 rmb and when you find one better rent it on the spot or the next person who comes for a look will do so. Anything from completely empty apartment (meaning there's not even floor inside but only concrete) to fully furnished ones are available. Apartments are rented via agents or directly from the owners. I'd prefer dealing directly with the owners since the agents are usually pushy and meeting the owners face to face also gives you an impression of who you are getting into a contract with.

 

www.58.com is a good site to search for a place but it's only in Chinese. As is everything else in Harbin. Finding a landlord that can communicate with you in any other language than Chinese might be possible but I'd say your changes are very slim. This is something you have to understand and mentally prepare for. A poster in these forums last year was shocked how even in the university finding people speaking English was hard. I'll say it once again: dealing with anything in Harbin will be 99% in Chinese.

[yhs31217]

one more thing

make sure there is a shower in the place you want to live in

 

eliaso is correct about the no english thing

i met 2 international students last year

because they couldnt contact with their landlord in english

they didnt know there was no shower in their flat until they moved in 

some old flats dont have shower, be careful

[YingYingz]

Thank you for your answer and recommendations 

 

Im welling to pay 1200-1400 rmb per month because I will share the room with my sister. 

 

the big problem of mine is I cannot communicate in Chinese, therefore, I should try my best to find the room. 

 

anyways, thank you again for those information. 

 

[StChris]

All the apartments I saw when I looking around HIT 2 years ago were pretty grotty, and not so cheap at around 1500 - 2000 a month (1 bedroom apartment). You and your sister might want to consider searching slightly further out from the uni. For example there are lots of new apartments next to the KaiDe shopping centre. These tend to be much nicer than the soviet style ones near HIT (more modern decoration, brighter inside and with underfloor heating). The price is around the same too (it was 1600 for a studio and 2000 for a 1 bedroom apartment when I was searching a couple of years ago). It's only 3 stops from HIT on the subway (it used to take me 15 minutes to get to the uni), and the subway itself is really cheap, and not crowded at all. 

 

Just get off at the XueFuLu MRT station and take a look around. There are lots of estate agents in the little shops at the bottom of the apartment buildings (look out for the 房 character). As others have said, either your Chinese has to be good enough or you should get a friend to help you out, as the agent almost certainly won't be able to speak English.

[laowang]

I helped a Canadian guy to rent a studio near hit called wenxuanjiayuan this spring, hit teachers' building. It is very nice and the landlord is decent, who teaches in hit. It is one bedroom, with shower, western toilet, fridge,cooking etc, brand new about 30 floors building. it is 1700 rmb on 4 months basis lease. If you live longer, the rent will be cheaper. This is a good location for studying in HIT if you don't want to stay in the ex-soviet style building. We did everything according to the Chinese law, like the police registration etc. So in Wenxianjiayuan you can find your nice home, like many foreign students living there.

[eliaso]

Laowang above btw is legit and I can vouch for him. He helped me find an apartment two years ago when I moved to Harbin and he did great job.