Higher fines sought for group renting

The municipal government is soliciting public comments on new rules that fine landlords and agencies up to 100,000 yuan ($16,273) for renting out single-family apartments to large groups of individuals, local media reported Sunday.

The measure, part of a draft amendment to the city's residential rental housing management regulations, aims to put an end to the recurring problems associated with the illegal practice known as group renting. Those problems include fire hazards, disputes between tenants and a higher risk of accidents.

Landlords make group renting possible by dividing up single-family apartments into multiple living spaces so they can rent out a single apartment to sometimes dozens of tenants at once. Usually, the living spaces are barely large enough to accommodate a single bed. In many cases, a property owner leases an apartment to a middleman who handles the renovations and takes responsibility for finding tenants.

The draft amendment aims to better define group renting by limiting the number of tenants allowed to share a room to two, with an exception for couples with children, according to a report in the Youth Daily. It also requires that every tenant has at least 5 square meters of living space. Any situation in which a tenant is living in less than 5 square meters would be considered group renting.

To discourage the practice, the draft amendment would also raise the minimum fine for landlords to 10,000 yuan from 5,000 yuan. Real estate agencies involved in group renting would face a minimum fine of 30,000 yuan.

Although the higher fines may deter group renting in some cases, the main challenge remains with enforcing the rules, said Wen Tao, a press officer from the Minhang District People's Prosecutor's Office, which deals with many group renting cases.

For example, it remains easy for landlords to rebuild the partitions that divide a group rental apartment after officials tear them down.

"In just a short time, these places can go back to how they were before," Wen told the Global Times.

The new rules would also require landlords to notify the housing authority and register with police if they have more than 10 rooms for rent, or rent to more than 15 tenants.

Residents can submit comments on the draft amendment until Saturday by sending an e-mail to fzbcjc@shanghai.gov.cn.