Accelerated urbanization, increased population mobility, and high housing prices in first-tier cities have contributed to a boom in the rental market, which has become a housing choice for most people. According to iiMedia data, users under the age of 35 are the main force of online rental users in China, of which 24-30 years old account for the largest proportion, and most of them are graduates and newcomers in the workplace.
"The house is rented, but life is not." The maturity of the rental market has imperceptibly given birth to a new concept of renting, the demand for high-quality rental housing is growing, and convenient services and modern living environment have become the focus of attention of urban renters.
Source: Photo.com
Beijing Ziru Information Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ziru"), as an Internet brand that provides rental products and services, has become the largest "second landlord" in China, and has opened rental business in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Tianjin and other domestic cities. In May 2024, Ziru officially launched its international rental business, providing rental services for Chinese students in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and other places.
According to the data of the Ziru Research Institute, 90% of college students need to rent a house to solve the housing problem after graduation, and the rent budget of graduates in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen generally exceeds 3,000 yuan.
According to the data of consumer insurance, a consumer service guarantee platform under the China Electronic Chamber of Commerce, the cumulative number of complaints in the housing rental industry reached 16,962, with an average resolution rate of 26.2%; The cumulative amount involved in the lawsuit exceeded 750 million yuan, and the cumulative amount recovered was only 60.33 million yuan.
The number of complaints from well-known Internet housing rental brands such as Eggshell Apartment, Qingke Apartment, Ziru, Anjuke, and I Love My Home remains high, among them, Eggshell Apartment has been removed from the shelves, and Qingke Apartment has also embarked on the road of bankruptcy liquidation. Ziru, which ranks third in the complaint list, has a complaint resolution rate of only 3.04%, which is far lower than the industry average.
Refund disputes, contract disputes, and housing quality problems accounted for the top three complaints, accounting for 58%, and refunds, compensation, and service improvement became the main demands of Ziru tenants.
The house became "moldy", and the tenant was refused to quit the rent without responsibility
Ms. Chen signed a contract for a house on the Ziru platform on September 2, 2023, and two months later, she found that the walls of the room began to bulge in a large area, so she contacted the Ziru maintenance personnel to come to deal with it.
In February 2024, Ms. Chen noticed that the mold and dampness in the room was more serious, and after contacting the maintenance staff, the maintenance staff told her that she could not deal with it at the moment, so she took care of the mold herself. Ms. Chen reported that after that, she had a fever 4 or 5 times in a month, and she suspected that she was infected by mold.
Houses with moldy walls
In early May, Ms. Chen felt that the room was not suitable for further living, so she initiated a sublease within the platform. However, the condition of the house was so bad that it could not be subleased.
Ms. Chen again asked the maintenance personnel to come to the door to deal with the mold, and after submitting the application, Ms. Chen did not wait for the maintenance personnel to come to the door, nor was she contacted to change the appointment time, so it was delayed for more than a week.
On May 28, 2024, Ms. Chen once again contacted the maintenance staff to come to the door to deal with the mold, but was told that "there is too much mold, and it has rained recently and it will not be treated".
Ms. Chan believes that the mould has seriously affected her health and that the room is no longer suitable for living. Since the wall was moldy and could not be repaired, and it had been delayed, she proposed to Ziru to surrender the lease without responsibility, asking to terminate the contract and return the full deposit, but Ziru did not accept.
There is mold on the floor, walls, and roof
Ms. Chan could not stand this living environment and was about to pay the next quarter's rent, for which she did not want to continue to pay rent and service fees. Recently, Ms. Chen initiated an early lease termination on the Ziru platform, terminated the contract, and was charged a full deposit.
Smoking in public areas is unregulated
The Freedom Convention is a null and void
Mr. Mo signed a house on the Ziru platform on May 17, 2024, and before signing the rental contract with Ziru, he consulted Ziru Housekeeper about smoking, and was told that smoking is not allowed in the public area, and this management regulation is clearly written in the contract, and if there is a violation, it can be removed. Mr. Mok reported that he did not allow tenants to smoke in the common areas, which was a prerequisite for him to pay for the contract.
However, just a week after moving in, Mr. Mok noticed that the tenants in the other rooms were smoking in the common areas. He believes that this has seriously affected his daily life and physical and mental health, and has also violated the relevant content of the contract between the two parties. Mr. Mo has given feedback to Ziru many times, hoping that Ziru can implement the management agreement in the contract, standardize the behavior of tenants, and do a good job in benign supervision.
Within one month of moving in, Mr. Mo had already given feedback to Ziru 5 times, but the situation of his roommate smoking in the common area had not been resolved, and Ziru had not terminated the breaching roommate according to the contract. Mr. Mok thinks that the customer service and housekeeper are perfunctory and do not act. After failing to give feedback to Ziru for the sixth time, Mr. Mok submitted an application for quitting the lease without liability, but Ziru did not accept it.
How to define the responsibilities of the tenant and the platform party under the early surrender of the lease? How do you assess a tenant's potential health problems due to housing issues? Is the tenant's behavior regulated and constrained in accordance with the contract management regulations? Consumer Electronics asked Ziru for an interview on the above issues, but Ziru did not reply as of press time.
Source: Photo.com
In response to the frequent problems of rental platforms, Yang He, a lawyer at Guangdong Green Law Firm, said that in the process of signing contracts and providing services, the platform should first clarify the refund policy and inform the tenant before using the service to avoid disputes due to refund issues. In addition, the platform should improve the quality of service, help tenants solve the problems encountered in the process of renting, and improve tenant satisfaction. Finally, it is necessary to establish a dispute resolution mechanism, including negotiation, mediation and arbitration, etc., to deal with tenants' complaints and disputes in a timely manner, and good service is the long-term way for enterprise development.
In addition, lawyer Yang He also suggested that consumers should do a few things when signing a contract, and finally familiarize themselves with relevant laws and regulations, such as the provisions on housing lease in the Civil Code, and understand their rights and obligations.
If you encounter problems and your rights and interests are violated, you must remember to leave evidence, seek help from relevant platforms in time, and resolutely protect your legitimate rights and interests. Here are some practical tips for renting a home!
Practical tips for renting a house
1. If you have time, see the house many times: it is best to find a companion when looking at the house, and under the condition of ensuring safety, it is best to go to the house at night, check the surrounding noise level, sound insulation effect and the surrounding environment light, and try to avoid seeing the house too late alone.
2. Confirm the hidden costs of renting: confirm whether the property management fee includes network fees, whether water and electricity are civil or commercial, and whether there are additional fees such as garbage disposal fees in the community.
3. Housing inspection: supporting basic facilities and furniture are photographed and retained; Check whether the house has any resurgence of moisture or formaldehyde problems; Check whether the door lock is secure; Who is responsible for the daily wear and tear during the lease period, whether the wear and tear will be counted in the deposit, etc.
4. Community environment considerations: observe the community environment, the age and family structure of permanent residents, and choose the community atmosphere you like; Whether there are supporting supermarkets and express delivery points near the community; Measure the actual time it takes from the house to the subway station and bus station.
5. Long-term planning: Consider personal career development and life changes, and also consider future development changes when renting, so as to avoid long-term leases that limit your choices.
文 | She
Edit | Friday