Shanghai mulls measures for institutional renters

Shanghai is studying and working on supportive measures to help institutional rental apartment operators whose businesses have been affected by the ongoing outbreak of novel coronavirus COVID-19, a senior government official said.

“During this special period of time, some players in the long-term rental market have encountered difficulties in apartment leasing as well as rent collection, and that has caught our attention and concern,” Zhang Lixin, deputy director of Shanghai Housing Management Bureau, told a recent press conference. 

“At the moment, we are doing research and joining forces with some related government departments to draft supportive polices to offer help for the industry,” Zhang said.

While no detailed information was released, Zhang called for strengthened communication and cooperation between rental apartment operators and property owners, and suggested that some rental waivers or reductions should be offered if property owners agree to offer waivers or reductions for corporate landlords.

Several institutional rental apartment operators have already unveiled waivers since the outbreak of the epidemic.

Shanghai-based Mofang, one of the country’s largest players in the industry, announced on January 31 that renters of Mofang apartments in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, would have their rents cut in half for February if they couldn't return as scheduled due to the lockdown of the city.

In a similar move, Danke Apartment, an online residential rental platform managing more than 400,000 housing units in over a dozen Chinese cities, said in a public letter on February 3 that it will refund one month’s rent to its renters in Wuhan who are unable to return. The company will also provide varied subsidies for renters in other areas based on impact from the epidemic.