(Promulgated by Decree No. 68 of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government on July 7, 2011; amended and re-promulgated in accordance with the Decision of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government on Amending the Procedures of Shanghai Municipality on the Administration of Residential Tenancy promulgated by Decree No. 15 of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government on March 24, 2014)

 

Article 1 (Purposes and Basis)

With a view to strengthening the administration of residential tenancy in this Municipality, standardizing the behavior of residential tenancy, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the parties to residential tenancy, and promoting the sound development of residential tenancy market, these Procedures are formulated in accordance with the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China, the Law on the Administration of Urban Real Estate of the People’s Republic of China, the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Residential Tenancy, and other relevant laws and rules, and in the light of the actual circumstances of this Municipality.  

Article 2 (Application Scope)

These Procedures apply to the residential tenancy and the supervision and administration thereof in this Municipality’s administrative area.

Article 3 (Definition)

“Residential tenancy” in these Procedures refers to the behavior of a landlord permitting a tenant to occupy a residential house, and the tenant paying the rent that the two sides have agreed on.

Article 4 (Principle)

Residential tenancy shall follow the principles of equality, voluntary action, legality, and good faith.

The parties to residential tenancy in this Municipality are encouraged and supported to establish a long-term and stable tenancy relationship.

Article 5 (Administrative Departments)

The municipal housing administrative department is the competent administrative department of residential tenancy in this Municipality. The district housing administrative department is responsible for the specific supervision and administration work related to residential tenancy under its jurisdiction, and is under the direction of the municipal housing administrative department with regard to relevant work.

The public security departments shall be responsible for the public security administration and fire prevention and controlrelated to residential tenancy and the residence registration of the parties to residential tenancy.

The administrative departments of market regulation, health, and culture and tourism shall be responsible for investigating and punishing the act of using rented residential houses for running unlicensed business.

The administrative departments of taxation, civil affairs, housing and urban-rural development, and resource planning shall, in accordance with their respective duties and responsibilities, collaborate in implementing these Procedures.   

Article 6 (Territorial Administration)

The district people’s governments shall bring the administration of residential tenancy into the scope of comprehensive administration of the community. The town/township people’s governments or the sub-district offices shall be in charge of coordinating and handling affairs and disputes related to residential tenancy within its jurisdiction, and shall be responsible for the registration and filing of the residential lease contract (hereinafter referred to as the “lease contract”).

Urban neighborhood committees or rural villagers’ committees shall assist in the administration of residential tenancy, and urge the parties to residential tenancy to observe the relevant provisions of the State and the Municipality on residential tenancy.

Article 7 (Parties to Tenancy)

The landlord of a residential house shall be the owner of the house who has obtained the real property ownership certificate or other proof of legal title in accordance with, or other proprietor defined by laws and regulations.

The tenant of a residential house may be a natural person, a legal person or other organization at home or abroad, but where laws and rules provide otherwise, such provisions shall prevail.

The landlord shall not lease a residential house to a natural person who can not provide his identity document or to a legal person or other organization that can not provide a business license or other approval document.

Article 8 (Houses Prohibited from Being Leased)

The leased residential house and the auxiliary facilities shall conform to the standards and requirements on fire prevention and control, public security, disaster prevention, and sanitation, among others and shall have the necessary amenities such as water and electricity supply facilities. 

A residential house in any of the following conditions shall not be leased:

1. being an illegal building; 

2. being identified as a dangerous house;

3. the nature of the house’s use having been changed in violation of the provisions; or

4. other circumstances in which laws, rules or regulations prohibit the house from being leased.

Article 9 (Minimum Rental Unit)

The minimum rental unit shall be a room which is originally designed as a living accommodation, and it is prohibited to lease a room partitioned or added or to take a bed as a rental unit.

Those parts originally designed as kitchen, bathroom, balcony, and underground storeroom shall not be leased for living accommodation.

Article 10 (Minimum Per Capita Rental Area and limited number of occupants)

Each room of a leased residential house shall be shared by not more than two occupants (except for those who have the legal duty to support their parents, children and other relatives), and the living area per occupant of a rental unit shall be not less than five square meters.

The living area mentioned in the preceding paragraph refers to the area in use of a room originally designed as living accommodation.

Article 11 (Central Tenancy Management)

In the case of centralized leasing of a residential house by one landlord, which involves 10 or more leased rooms or 15 or more occupants, the landlord shall set up a management system, specify the administrators, perform duties of safety management, establish an information registration book or a registration system, and submit the relevant registered information to the public security department for filing.

The residential houses in a residential property management area shall not be leased out as staff dormitory. 

Article 12 (Lease Contract)

The parties to a residential tenancy shall enter into a written lease contract in accordance with law. The lease contract shall mainly include the following contents:

1.the names, addresses, type and number of the valid identity certificate of the parties to tenancy ( including the occupants of the rental unit);

2. the location, area, structure, auxiliary facilities, and equipment of the rental unit; 

3. the purpose of tenancy;

4. the date of delivery of the rental unit;

5. the term of tenancy and renewal;

6. the amount of rent, the means and time of payment;

7. the payment of property management service fees and bills of utilities such as water, electricity, gas, communication;

8. requirements for the use of the house, and responsibility for maintenance;

9. the condition of the house when returned by the lessee;

10. liability for breach of the contract and means of settlement of disputes; and

11. other matters as may be agreed upon by the parties to tenancy.

The municipal housing administrative department and the market regulation department shall formulate the model text of a lease contract, and make it public on the government website.

Article 13 (Registration for the Record)

Within 30 days after the signing of a lease contract, the parties to tenancy shall complete the registration of the lease contract at the community affairs service center where the leased house is located, and if the lease contract is made through a real estate agency, the latter shall complete the registration.

If the registered contents in a lease contract have changed, or in case of the renewal or termination of the tenancy, the parties to tenancy shall, within 30 days, go through the formalities for alteration, renewal or cancellation of the registration of the lease contract at the original registration department.

Article 14 (Lease Information System)

The municipal housing administrative department shall push forward the establishment of the information system for the registration of lease contract, implement online registration, and bring it into the information system of real estate market. 

Article 15 (Rent)

The parties to tenancy shall stipulate the amount of rent in a lease contract. The tenant shall pay on time the rent as stipulated in the contract.

Where the term of residential tenancy is one year or less than one year, the parties to tenancy shall stipulate the amount of rent in the lease contract at one time; where the term is over one year, the rent may be adjusted only once a year. Where the lease contract has otherwise stipulated the adjustment of rent, such stipulation shall prevail.

Within the term of lease contract, the landlord shall not increase the rent unilaterally.

Where the landlord decorates the house or adds auxiliary facilities or equipment as required by the tenant, the rent may be adjusted through consultation.

Article 16（Rent Deposit）

The landlord may collect the rent deposit as agreed on in a lease contract; if the amount is not agreed, the rent deposit shall be not more than  the amount of two months’ rent. 

Article 17 (Sublease)

The tenant may sublet the house as stipulated in a lease contract; in case of no such stipulation, the tenant shall obtain the written consent from the landlord before subletting the house.

The residential sublease shall conform to the provisions of Article 8, Article 9 and Article 10 of these Procedures.

If the sub-landlord violates the provisions of Paragraph 1 or Paragraph 2 of this Article, the landlord may rescind the lease contract, evict the leased house and ask for compensation.

In case of residential sublease, a lease contract shall be entered in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 and Article 13 of these Procedures, and the registration of the contract shall be completed.

The tenant who does not occupy the house after residential sublease may consult with the landlord to rescind the lease contract, and then the landlord and the sub-lessee may sign a lease contract directly.

Article 18 (Renewal)

If a residential house continues to be leased after the expiration of the tenancy term, the tenant shall have the priority of tenancy on the equal conditions.

If a lease contract has stipulated the renewal, such stipulation shall apply. If not, the landlord who does not continue to lease the rental house shall notify the tenant one month before the termination of tenancy.

If the landlord has no objection that the tenant continues to occupy the house after the expiration of the tenancy term, the original lease contract continues to be effective, but the term of tenancy is not fixed. If the landlord proposes to terminate the indefinite tenancy, the tenant shall be notified in written notice at least one month before the termination of tenancy.

Article 19 (Covenants in Leases Run with the Land)

If the ownership of a rental house is transferred due to sale, exchange, gifting and inheritance and among others, during the term of tenancy, the tenant may enforce the lease contract against the new owner of the house, who shall not terminate the contract by reason of the transference of the ownership of the house.

Article 20 (Preemption)

If a landlord sells the leased house during the tenancy, the landlord shall notify the tenant in advance as stipulated in the lease contract; in case of no such stipulation, the landlord shall notify the tenant at least three months before the sale, and the tenant shall have the preemption on the equal conditions,except for the exercise of the preemption by the co-owners of the house or the sale of the house to the immediate relatives of the landlord. After the landlord has fulfilled the notification obligation, if the tenant fails to make clear the purchase intention within 15 days, the preemption shall be deemed to be waived by the tenant.

If the landlord sells the house by auction through entrusting auctioneer, a notice shall be sent to the tenant 5 days before the auction. If the tenant fails to enter for the auction, the preemption shall be deemed to be waived by the tenant

The landlord shall consult with the tenant on the problems caused by house sale, such as the time of entry for seeing the house, and shall not obstruct the tenant’s normal use of the house.

Article 21 (Continue to Lease)

If a tenant dies during the term of the tenancy, the persons living with the tenant before his death may continue to lease the house under the original lease contract.

Article 22 (Termination of Contract)

During the term of residential tenancy, no party shall terminate the lease contract arbitrarily, unless, upon meeting the termination conditions stipulated in the lease contract, the parties to tenancy reach an agreement through consultation, or there exist the termination conditions provided by laws.

If a tenant fails to use the residential house according to its purpose, the landlord may terminate the contract. 

Article 23 (Obligations of the Landlord)

The landlord of a residential house shall sign “the Guarantee for Public Security Responsibility” with the local police station.

The landlord of a residential house shall fulfill the following obligations:

1. check the identity certificates of the tenant and occupants, and register the tenant’s name, ID type and number as required by the public security department;

2. Supervise and cooperate with the tenant and occupants to apply for residence registration in a timely manner in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State and this municipality;

3. provide the tenant’s contact information to the proprietors’ committee or the company providing property management services, and urge the tenants and occupants to abide by the proprietors’ management rules and supervise their compliance therewith;

4. upon finding the tenant or occupant running unlicensed business in the rental premises, promptly report to the market regulation department or other departments concerned;

5. assume responsibility for guaranteeing the safety of the leased house and the facilities and equipment provided, inform the tenant of matters on safe use thereof, conduct regular safety checks and maintenance, and discover and eliminate safety hazards in time; and

6. cooperate with relevant departments to investigate, stop and punish the behaviors in violation of laws and regulations by the tenant and occupants.

Article 24 (Obligations of the Tenant)

The residential tenant shall fulfill the following obligations:

1. faithfully tell the landlord the name, ID type and number of the occupant, and apply for the residence registration as required; must have the consent of the landlord before increasing the number of occupant, and shall not violate the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 10 of these Procedures;

2. abide by the proprietors’ management rules, and not infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of the adjoining proprietors;

3. not use the rental premises for business activities; and

4. use the house, its facilities and equipment in a rational and safe manner; not change the nature or structure of the house without authorization, or carry out other unauthorized construction work.

Article 25 (Requirements on Real Estate Agent)

Real estate agencies and agents shall abide by the provisions on the management of residential tenancy of the State and this Municipality, publicize to the parties to tenancy the policies on house tenancy, service for and management of actual population, and guide the parties to tenancy to use the model text of lease contract.

Real estate agencies and agents shall not provide intermediary service for residential tenancy that do not conform to the provisions of these Procedures, and shall not seek personal gains and earn profits from price difference caused by concealing facts such as the real rent of the house from the parties to tenancy.

No commission shall be charged when a real estate agency or agent leases a residential house subject to the intermediary or agency.

Article 26 (Agent Lease)

This Municipality encourages professional lease agencies to be authorized by owners of houses or other proprietor defined by laws or regulations, to lease residential houses to make profits in their own names in accordance with the stipulations of the authorization contract. The municipal housing administrative department shall, jointly with other departments concerned, formulate the specific management provisions.

Article 27 (Management by Proprietors)

With the consent of the proprietors’ general meeting, the proprietors’ committee may, in light of the actual situation of house tenancy in the corresponding property management area, formulate relevant management measures to be incorporated into the management rules, and may entrust the property management service company to implement the specific measures.

If a residential tenant violates the proprietors’ management rules and infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of others, the proprietors’ committee is entitled to request the tenant to stop the infringement, eliminate the danger, abate the nuisance, and compensate for the losses. The proprietor may file a lawsuit in the people's court for acts infringing on his legitimate rights and interests.

Article 28 (Requirements on Property Management Services Company)

The property management services company shall report the matters of house tenancy within their property management area to the local community affairs service center as required by the town/township people’s government or the sub-district office.

Upon discovering any illegal behavior of the tenant, real estate agency or agent, the property management services company shall promptly discourage and stop such behavior, and report to the proprietors’ committee or relevant departments.

Article 29 (Disputes Settlement)

The landlord, the tenant and the adjoining proprietor shall settle disputes over house tenancy through consultation; if no agreement is reached through consultation, they may apply to the people’s mediation committee for mediation, or may apply to an arbitration institution for arbitration, or may bring a lawsuit in the people’s court. Those who meet the prescribed conditions may apply to legal aid institutions for legal aid in accordance with.

Article 30 (Existing Provisions on punishment)

For ACTS in violation of these Measures, if there are provisions on punishment for such ACTS in laws and regulations, they shall be dealt with in accordance with the relevant provisions.

Article 31(Punishment for Violations of Provisions on Public Security, Fire Prevention and Control, or Residence Registration)

Those who violate the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 8 of these Measures and rent out houses that do not meet the standards and requirements of public security and fire prevention and control shall be ordered to make corrections by the public security department and may be imposed a fine of not less than RMB 1,000 but not more than RMB 30,000 .

If the landlord of a residential house fails to fulfil the relevant safety management responsibilities in violation of the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 11 of these Procedures, the pubic security department shall impose a fine of not less than RMB 10,000 and not more than RMB 30,000 ; where serious consequences have been caused, a fine of not less than RMB 30,000  and not more than 100,000  shall be imposed.

The public security department shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions, punish the tenants and occupants of the leased house who have violated other provisions on public security administration and residence registration administration.

Article 32 (Punishment for Violation of Provisions on Minimum Rental Unit, Limited Number of Occupants or Minimum Rental Area)

In violation of the provisions of Article 9 or Paragraph 1 of Article 10 of these Procedures on the minimum rental unit, the restrictions on the number of the occupants, or the minimum per-capita rental area, the district housing administrative department shall order the person liable to make corrections within a prescribed time limit; for failure to make the corrections within the prescribed time limit, a fine of not less than RMB10,000 and not more than RMB 100,000 may be imposed.

Article 33 (Punishment on Parties to Tenancy Failing to Apply for Registration as Required)

If the parties to tenancy fail to go through the procedures for registering the lease contract within a prescribed time limit in violation of the provisions of Article 13 of these Procedures, the district housing administrative department shall order corrections within a prescribed time limit; for failure to make the corrections within the prescribed time limit, a fine of not more than 1,000  may be imposed on an individual, and a fine of not less than RMB 1,000  and not more than RMB 10,000  may be imposed on a unit.

Article 34 (Punishment on Real Estate Agency Failing to Apply for Registration as Required)

If the real estate agency fails to apply for the registration in violation of the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 13 of these Procedures, the district housing administrative department shall order corrections within a prescribed time limit; for failure to make the corrections within the prescribed time limit, a fine of not less than RMB 3,000 and not more than RMB 30,000 may be imposed.

Article 35 (Punishment on Real Estate Agent Violating Brokerage ManagementProvisions)

Where a real estate agency or agent provides intermediary service for residential tenancy that violates the provisions of Paragraph 2 of Article 25 of these Procedures, the district housing administrative department shall order corrections within a prescribed time limit, and suspend the agency’s qualifications for online registration; Those real estate agents who fail to make corrections within the time limit shall be fined not less than RMB 1,000  but not more than RMB 10,000 , and the real estate agency shall be disqualified for online registration and be fined not less than RMB 30,000  but not more than RMB 100,000 .

Article 36 (Reference for Application)

These Procedures shall apply to subletting of public residential houses, and the supervision and management thereof.

Article 37 (Effective Date)

These Procedures shall be effective as of October 1, 2011, and the Implementation Procedures of Shanghai Municipality on the Administration of Residential Tenancy promulgated by Shanghai Municipal People’s Government on August 30, 2004 shall be repealed simultaneously.