“A Guide to Rent Beijing Apartments, Beijing Villas” is written for those expats who are going to relocate to Beijing and need to find an apartment, or a villa to stay in. In order to save time and avoid unnecessary losses, I summed up 10 questions that you need to know and pay attention to when you search a home in Beijing.

 
1. How to get started?

The first thing you should do is you need to know Beijing as much as possible, this will help you find out a good home quickly. How to know Beijing well while you are in your home country? This is not difficult, let me tell you.
 
First of all, you need to know Beijing administrative district and living areas of expats.


Please see this map, this is Beijing Administrative District Map. From the map, we can see Beijing is divided into 16 districts, and the map is comprised of 4 colors: green, purple, orange and yellow, each color represents each different region of Beijing.
 
The green color represents the outer suburbs of Beijing, it is made up of 4 districts: Yanqing, Huairou, Miyun and Pinggu; the purple color represents the suburbs of Beijing, it consists of 6 districts: Changping, Shunyi, Tongzhou, Daxing, Fangshan and Mentougou; the orange color represents the city of Beijing, it is composed of 4 distrcits: Haidian, Chaoyang, Fengtai and Shijingshan; the yellow color represents the downtown of Beijing, it contains 2 districts: Dongcheng and Xicheng.  
 
For most expats, their working places are concentrated in the district of Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang, Haidian and Fengtai. However, the living areas of expats are mainly in Chaoyang, Dongcheng and Shunyi.
 
In Chaoyang and Dongcheng districts, there are a number of foreign apartments, serviced apartments and traditional Chinese courtyards in the area of CBD (Central Business District), Chaoyang Park, Sanlitun, Dongzhimen, Gulou, Lufthansa and Lido etc. In Shunyi, there are thousands of villas, the district of Shunyi is called Central Villa District of Shunyi, Beijing, China. Like Chaoyang District, Shunyi District has a very strong atmosphere of foreign life.
 
Besides, in the border between Shunyi District and Chaoyang District, we call it Jingshun Road where there are many popular villas too in this area, such as Beijing Riviera, Cathy View Villas, Lane Bridge Villa, Orchid Garden and Grand Hills etc.
 
Next, you need to know traffic of Beijing.

Line 1: Pingguoyuan-Sihuidong
Line 2: Jishuitan-Xizhimen
Line 4: Anheqiaobei-Tiangongyuan
Line 5: Songjiazhuang-Tiantongyuanbei
Line 6: Haidianwuluju-Lucheng
Line 7: Beijing West Railway Station-Jiaohuachang
Line 8: Zhuxinzhuang-Nanluoguoxiang
Line 9: Guogongzhuang-National Library
Line 10: Bagou-Huoqiying
Line 13: Xizhimen-Dongzhimen
Line 14 East Section: Beijing South Railway Station-Shangezhuang
Line 14 West Section: Zhangguozhuang-Xiju
Line 15: Fengbo-Qinghuadonglu Xikou
Batong Line: Sihui-Tuqiao
Changping Line: Nanshao-Xierqi
Yizhuang Line: Songjiazhuang-Ciqu
Fangshan Line: Suzhuang-Guogongzhuang
Airport Express: Dongzhimen-Terminal 2
 
Through this map, we can see Beijing subway goes to everywhere of the city, and it also goes to most suburb districts of Beijing: Changping, Shunyi, Tongzhou, Daxing and Fangshan. As such, Beijing subway is the most convenient means of transportation in Beijing. By taking subway, people don't have to worry about traffic jam during rush hours in the morning and in the evening. 
 
For more details about Beijing subway, here is the website that you can visit: 
http://www.tour-beijing.com/subway/

Third, you need to know international schools of Beijing, if you have kid(s).
 
Up to now, there are 37 international schools in Beijing. Please see the names of these 37 international schools with their contact information and their official websites below for your convenience.
 
1) Canadian International School of Beijing
Tel: +86(10)6465-7788
Email: admissions@cisbeijing.com
Address: 38 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100125
For details, please visit the official website of Canadian International School of Beijing at: https://www.cisb.com.cn
 
2) International School of Beijing
Tel:+86(10) 8149-2345
Email: info@isb.bj.edu.cn
Address: 10 An Hua Street, Shunyi District, Beijing 101318 
For details, please visit the official website of International School of Beijing at: https://www.isb.bj.edu.cn
ail：admin@kaiwenedu.com

3) Beijing New Talent Academy
Tel: +86(10)8046-7117
Email: xzyx@bjnewtalent.com
Address: 9 Anhua Street, Shunyi District, Beijing 101300
For details, please visit the official website of Beijing New Talent Academy at:
https://www.bjnewtalent.com/english.html
 
4) Beijing BISS International School
Tel: +86(10) 6443-3151
Email: Admissions@biss.com.cn
Address:  No 17, Area 4, Anzhen Xili, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029
For details, please visit the official website of Beijing BISS International School at: https://www.biss.com.cn
 
5) The International Montessori School of Beijing
Tel: +86(10) 6432-8228
Email: administration@msb.edu.cn
Address: 2A Xiangjiang Beilu, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China 100103
For details, please visit the official website of The International Montessori School of Beijing at: https://www.msb.edu.cn
 
6) Lycée Français International Charles de Gaulle de Pékin
Tel: +86(10) 8474-7088
Email: nom.prenom@lfip.net.cn
Address: Xinjin Lu - Beijing 100015
For details, please visit the official website of Lycée français international Charles de Gaulle de Pékin at: https://www.lfip.net.cn

7) German Embassy School Beijing
Tel: +86(10)8531-6100
Email: info@dspeking.cn
Address: Liangmaqiao Lu 49A, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100125
For details, please visit the official website of German Embassy School Beijing at:
https://www.dspeking.net.cn
 
8) Beijing SMIC Private School English Track
Tel: +86(10) 6785-3030
Email: etoffice@bjsmicschool.com
Address: No. 9 Liang Shui He 2nd Street, Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, Beijing 100176
For details, please visit the official website of Beijing SMIC Private School English Track at: https://et.bjsmicschool.com
 
9) Western Academy of Beijing
Tel: +86(10) 5986-5588 ext.1309
Email: yingshya_pee@wab.edu
Address: No. 10 Lianguangying East Road,100102 Beijing, Chaoyang
For details, please visit the official website of Western Academy of Beijing at: https://www.wab.eduwab.edu Dong Lu
 
10) Swiss School BeijingEmail: info@swiss-school-beijing.ch
Address: 10 Lai Guang Ying Dong Lu, Chao Yang District, Beijing 100102
For details, please visit the official website of Swiss School Beijing at: https://ssbj.wab.edu/contact.html
 
11) The British School of Beijing, Sanlitun
Tel: (Early Years) +86(10 )8532-5320
Tel: (Primary)+86(10) 85323-088
Email: sltadmissions@bsbsanlitun.com
Address: Primary Campus - No.5 Xiliujie, Sanlitun Road,Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100027
Early Years Campus – No. 7 Beixiaojie, Sanlitun Road,Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100027
For details, please visit the official website of The British School of Beijing, Sanlitun at: https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/our-schools/beijing/sanlitun
 
12) Dulwich College BeijingLegend Garden Campus (1-18)
Tel: +86(10)6454-9000
Email: admissions@dulwich-beijing.cn
Address: 89 Capital Airport Road, Shunyi District, Beijing 101300
 
Beijing Riviera Campus (1-6)
Tel: +86(10)8450-7676
Email: admissions@dulwich-beijing.cn
Address: 1 Xiang Jiang Bei Lu, Jing Shun Lu, Chao Yang District, Beijing 100103
For details, please visit the official website of Dulwich College Beijing at:
https://beijing.dulwich.org
 
13) Beijing International Bilingual Academy
Tel: +86(10) 8041-0390
Email: info@bibachina.org
Address: 1 Yumin Road, Houshayu, Shunyi District, Beijing
For details, please visit the official website of Beijing International Bilingual Academy at: https://www.bibachina.org/en/
 
14) Springboard International Bilingual School
Tel：+86 (10 ) 8049-0307
Email：office@sibs.com.cn
Address: Gucheng Village, 15 Huosha Road, Houshayu Town, Shunyi District, Beijing, 101318
For details, please visit the official website of Springboard International Bilingual School at: https://www.sibs.com.cn
 
15) Hyde Academy
Tel: +86(10) 8041-6795
Email: admissions@hyde-education.com
Address: Hyde Academy, No.9 Anfu St, Hou Sha Yu, Shunyi, Beijing
For details, please visit the official website of Hyde Academy at:
https://hyde-academy.cn/?lang=en
 
16) Harrow Beijing
Tel: +86(10)6444-8900
Email: admissions@harrowbeijing.cn
Address: No.287 Hegezhuang Village, Cuigezhuang County, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100102
For details, please visit the official website of Harrow Beijing at: https://www.harrowbeijing.cn
 
17) The British International School of Beijing, Shunyi
Tel: +8610 8047 3558
Email: sending an email on line on its official website below
Address: South Side, No. 9 An Hua Street, Shunyi District, Beijing 101318
For details, please visit the official website of The British International School of Beijing, Shunyi at: https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/en/our-schools/beijing/shunyi
 
18) Keystone Academy
Tel: +86(10)8049-6008 ext.2028
Email: admission@keystoneacademy.cn
Address: No. 11, Anfu Street, Houshayu, Shunyi District, Beijing 101318
For details, please visit the official website of Keystone Academy at: https://www.keystoneacademy.cn
 
19) Joy EL International Academy
Tel: +86(10)6419 0938
Email: admissions@joyelacademy.com
Address: No. 8, Laiguangying East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
For details, please visit the official website of Joy EL International Academy at: https://www.joyelacademy.org
 
20) Beijing City International School
Tel: +86(10)8771-7171
Email: admissions@bcis.cn
Address: Beijing City International School
No. 77 Baiziwan Nan Er Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022, PR China
Beijing City International School Early Childhood Center
No. 11 Dongbai Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022, PR China
For details, please visit the official website of Beijing City International School at: https://www.bcis.cn
 
21) Yew Chung International School of Beijing
Tel: +86(10) 8585 1836
Email: sending an email on line on its official website below
Address: Honglingjin Park, 5 Houbalizhuang, Chaoyang District,Beijing 100025
For details, please visit the official website of Yew Chung International School of Beijing at: https://www.ycis-bj.com/en/
 
22) Hope International School
Tel: +86(10)400-800-8781 ext.6002
Email: admissions@hopeintlschool.org
Address: Exhibition Hall 4, No. 1 Xiedao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100018
For details, please visit the official website of Hope International School at: https://www.hopeintlschool.org
 
23) Tsinghua International School
Tel: +86(10)6279-6800
Email: THIS@tsinghua.edu.cn
Address: Zhongguancun North Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100084
For details, please visit the official website of Tsinghua International School at:
https://www.joyelacademy.org/en/
 
24) Tsinghua University High School International 
Tel: +86(10)8437-0906
Email: admission@thsi.com.cn
Address: National Tennis Center, 2 Lincui Rd, Chaoyang District
For details, please visit the official website of Tsinghua University High School International at: https://www.thsi.com.cn/
 
25) Yew Wah International Education School Beijing
Tel: +86(10)8783-6006
Email: enquiry.bj@ywies.com
Address: B&P IEP, Liangshuihe Erjie, BDA, Daxing District, Beijing 100176
For details, please visit the official website of Yew Wah International Education School Beijing at: https://www.ywies-bj.com/en/
 
26) Limai Chinese American (International) School
Tel: +86(10)5339-2993
Email: limaiwaiguoyu@163.com
Address: No.2, Yangshan Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100107
For details, please visit the official website of Limai Chinese American (International) School at: https://www.lcais.com/en/
 
27) Beanstalk International SchoolBIBS Upper East Side (K-6)
Tel: +86 (10) 5130-7951
Email: ues@bibs.com.cn
 
BIBS Shunyi Campus (K-12)
Tel: +86(10) 6456-0618
Email: shunyi@bibs.com.cn
 
BIBS Dongrun Campus (K-6)
Tel: +86(10) 8456-6019
Email: dongrun@bibs.com.cn
 
BIK Solana Campus (K)
Tel: +86(10) 5905-6700
Email: solana@bibs.com.cn
 
BIK Wanda Campus (K)
Tel: +86(10) 5960-3887
Email: wanda@bibs.com.cn
       
BIK Shunyi Campus (K)
Tel: +86(10) 6456-5931
Email: biksy@bibs.com.cn
 
Wanghu Campus (K)
Tel: +86 (10) 6478-4166
Email: wanghu@bibs.com.cn
 
BIK Yiyuan Campus (K)
Tel: +86 (10) 8973-9200
Email: changping@bibs.com.cn
 
BIK Yangshan Campus (K)
Tel: +86(10) 6430-4594
Email: yangshan@bibs.com.cn
 
Changqingteng Campus (K)
Tel: +86(10) 8537-9659
Email: changqingteng@bibs.com.cn
 
General Email: info@bibs.com.cn
Admissions Email: admissions@bibs.com.cn
For details, please visit the official website of Beanstalk International School at: https://bibs.com.cn
 
28) Innova Academy
Tel: +86(10)8590-0519
Email: info@innovaedu.cn
Address: No.18, Tongji Nan Lu, Tongzhou District, Beijing 100176
For details, please visit the official website of Innova Academy at: https://www.innovaedu.cn
 
29) 3e International SchoolLido Campus
Tel: +86(10)6437-3344 ext.127
Email: info@3einternationalschool.org
Address: No.9-1, Side Park, Jiang Tai Xi Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100016
 
Laiguangying Campus
Tel: +86(10)6437-3344 ext.127
Email: info@3einternationalschool.org
Address: Xinjin Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100015
For details, please visit the official website of 3e International School at: https://www.3einternationalschool.org
 
30) House of knowledgeCampus Victoria Gardens
Tel: +86(10)6538-2624
Email: sending an email on line on its official website below
Address: 15, Victoria Gardens, Chaoyang Park West Road, Beijing 100025
 
Campus Quanfa Gardens  
Tel: +86(10)6431 8452
Email: sending an email on line on its official website below
Address: North Gate of Quanfa Gardens, 18 Ma Quan Ying, Beijing 100103
For details, please visit the official website of House of knowledge at: https://hokschools.com/contact-us/
 
31) Beijing World Youth Academy
Tel: +86(10)6470-6336
Email: info@ibwya.net
Address: No.18, Huajiadi Beili, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100102
For details, please visit the official website of Beijing World Youth Academy at:
https://www.ibwya.net
 
32) Beijing Royal School
Tel: +86(10)8178-5511
Email: sending an email on line on its official website below
Address: No.11, Wangfu Street, Changping Distrcit, Beijing 102209
For details, please visit the official website of Beijing Royal School at: https://www.brs.edu.cn/en/
 
33) Beijing Shuren Ribet Private School
Tel: +86(10)8085-6787
Email: shuren@shuren.org
Address: Xiapu South #1, Songzhuang Town, Tongzhou District, Beijing 101118
For details, please visit the official website of Beijing Shuren Ribet Private School
at https://www.shurenribet.org
 
34) Kaiwen Academy Chaoyang Campus
Tel: +86(10)8302-8100
Email: admissions@cy.kaiwenacademy.cn
Address: North of Dongba Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
 
Haidian Campus
Tel: +86(10)8302-8666
Email: admin@kaiwenedu.com
Address: No.65, Xingshikou Road, Haidian District, Beijing
For details, please visit the official website of Kaiwen Academy at: https://www.kaiwenedu.com/en/
 
35) Saint Paul American School
Tel: +86(10)8070-3429
Email: admissions@stpaulamerican.org
Address: 18 Guan Ao Yuan, Qinghe, Haidian District, Beijing 100192
For details, please visit the official website of Saint Paul American School at:
https://www.stpaulamerican.org
 
36) Beijing Huijia Private School
Tel: +86(10)6974-8794
Email: info@huijiaedu.org
Address: No.157, Changhuai Road, Changping District, Beijing 102200
For details, please visit the official website of Beijing Huijia Private School at: https://www.huijia.edu.cn/en
 
37) Daystar Academy Beigao
Tel: +86(10)6433-7366
Email: Info-DS@daystarchina.cn
Address: No.2 Shunbai Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
For details, please visit the official website of Daystar Academy Beigao at: https://www.ivyschools.com/DS
 
After you know well about Beijing Administrative District, expats living areas, Beijing traffic, international schools and your working place, you can decide in which area you are going to live, and you can start to search.

 
2. How to start your home search?

To start your home search, you need to find a good real estate agent. But how to find a good real estate agent? There are 2 ways:
 
Way 1:
If you have a foreign friend who has been living in Beijing for a while and had a home search experience, you can ask him/her to recommend you a good real estate agent, or you can ask your future colleague(s), no matter he/she is Chinese or from other country. This is a reliable way to get a good real estate agent.
 
Way 2:
You can also find a real estate agent on google in case you have no referrals. But please be careful, as the agents you found on google are not 100% as professional as you expected, this will be the first problem you might meet when you look for a house in Beijing. For that reason, I suggest that you have to be careful when you choose an agent. For your convenience, I recommend you 3 agents below.

1) Century 21 Global
Century 21 Global is a world-renowned chain of real estate operators focusing on residential market. In 2000, Century 21 Global entered China and rapidly grew into a well-known local real estate integrated service provider. Its services range is from brand franchising, second-hand housing sales and leasing, and overseas home purchase to meet customers' one-stop purchase needs. By the end of March 31, 2018, it has established 64 regional branches in mainland of China, covering 3,327 stores and more than 23,556 real estate agents in 81 major cities of China. Its products are mainly positioned in middle and high-end apartments, high-end apartments and villas.

2）Landz Realtor
Landz Realtor was established in 2005. It provides a high-end real estate transactions and advisory services for high-end users with net assets of over 30 million. "Strive to build a trustworthy high-end real estate service brand"! is Landz Realtor's goal.
 
On April 1, 2016, the Shanghai branch was set up. In addition, the overseas business department of the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom was added, and the business scope expanded into overseas real estate, tourism real estate and commercial real estate etc. Its products are positioned in high-end apartments, villas, courtyards, mansions (luxurious houses).

3) Beijing Thumbs Up Real Estate: the team of Beijing Thumbs Up Real Estate follows strictly the task list of every client, like internet installation, reminder of rental payment, receipt and invoice delivery, reminder of lease extension, maintenance arrangement and following up etc. until all tasks are well followed and completed. 
 
After you find a real estate agent, you can start to build up a connection with the agent by sending an introduction email first, and then you can go to the subject for consultation.

 
3. When is the best time for viewing?

Viewing time is an important issue in the process of looking for a house. Some expats didn’t know when the best time is for viewing, and their agents didn’t tell them about it. Therefore, they flew to China to see houses, and it is still a long time to go to the moving in date.
 
In some cases, the day of negotiation is far from the day of moving in, like one month, some landlords are reluctant to take the offers. As thus, their houses still welcome visitors in the following days, and sometimes, these landlords may get offers from other visitors whose moving in date are very soon, like 1 week or 2 weeks.
 
For that reason, from my point of view, the best time for viewing is around 2 weeks before your moving in date.  

 
4. What do you need to pay attention to during your viewing?

When you conduct a viewing, you need to pay attention to the following issues:
 
1) Is the compound equipped with sufficient living facilities? like clubhouse, gym, swimming
pool, tennis court, Children’s playground, garden, convenient store, laundry, coffee shop, restaurant, bakery and leisure field etc.
2) Are the supporting facilities in the neighborhood ready for living? like school,
supermarket, shopping mall, clinic and bank etc.
3) How far the subway station is from the compound?
4) Is there an easy access to the ring road or main road for driving?
5) Is there a serious traffic jam at the peak around the neighborhood?
6) Is the house close to main road? is the noise big?
7) How new the house is? does the house have a good condition?
8) Is the property management of the compound good?
9) Is the house on high floor or middle high floor or low floor?
10) What is the orientation of the house? is it good for lighting?
11) Is the house well-ventilated?
12) Are the windows and balcony of the house safe to children? If not, is it possible for you to do something to make it safe or you need to ask the landlord for help?
13) Is the window sound insulation good?
14) Is the house heating good in winter?
15) Is the air conditioner good in summer?
16) Is the house equipped with a Ventilation System?
17) Is there any construction around the house?
18) Is there a parking place for car?
19) Is there a security guard for the building?
20) How many lifts and households are there on each floor?

 
5. How to draft an offer letter? 

Once you are interested in a house, you need to draft an offer letter and start a negotiation.
 
First, in the offer letter, you need to write down in details about the information of the house that you are interested: compound name, room number, bedrooms and square meters.
 
Next, you need to write clearly about your lease term, your moving in date, terms of payment and rent.
 
When you write the clause of lease term, for the sake of safety, you’d better divide your lease term into 2 parts: one is fixed term, another one is a term that can be terminated with a written notice in advance, normally we give a written notice of 2 months in advance， we call this “early termination clause”. In this case, if you terminate your lease contract after the fixed term, and you will not lose your security deposit. In most cases, we take 1 year as a fixed lease term.
 
Another clause you need to add is diplomatic clause if you are a diplomat. The diplomatic clause indicates the tenant can terminate the lease contract without a written notice in advance if the relationship between the 2 countries is tension and the tenant must go back to his/her home country. Under such circumstance, the tenant will not lose his/her security deposit for a breach of the lease contract.
 
For the terms of payment, the usual practice in Beijing is the tenant needs to pay 1 month rent as security deposit and 3 months’ rent. However, some landlords may request 2 months’ rent as deposit, and some landlords may request half year or yearly rent payment.
 
Regarding rent, it is a sensitive issue. My suggestion to you is you’d better to investigate if the rent you are going to offer is market price, if the rent the landlord asked is reasonable, and then you decide how much you like to offer for the rent.
 
Third, you need to clarity what items you want to include in your rent. In general, the rent includes management fee and heating fee. However, when you write an offer letter, you could try to include more. For example, in addition to management fee and heating fee, you could try to ask the landlord to include invoice, internet and parking fee etc.
 
In Beijing, if you ask the landlord to include invoice in your rent, it means the landlord needs to pay a tax, normally it is 5% of the rent. And if you ask the landlord to include a parking fee in your rent, the landlord needs to pay the parking fee for you, and how much the landlord needs to pay for the parking fee, it depends. The parking fee varies from different compounds, some compounds are high. Ordinarily, it is hard to ask the landlord to include invoice and parking fee in your rent, however, some landlords accepted. For this reason, you could try and see whether there is a negotiation space, and you try to find a balance between you and the landlord.
 
Finally, you need to write out what special requirements you request. In this part, something we can ask the landlord to do like: repaint the wall, if the wall is dirty; make a deep cleaning on whole house; do some maintenance work, if you found something broken; clean sofa covers and all curtains; fix all window seals; do new silicone joints in the bathroom and in the kitchen; check all electrical appliances which must be in good function; clean air conditioner; check all doors and windows which can be opened and closed properly etc.  

 
6. What do you need to pay attention to when you prepare your lease contract?

In this section, 4 issues you need to pay attention to.
 
The first issue is the lease contract must be 3 parties contract, one is for landlord, one is for your agent, one is for yourself. This is a way to involve your agent in your lease agreement, it means the agent is required to act as the third party to perform his responsibilities.
 
The second issue is you need to check if all clauses written on your offer letter are completely and clearly written on your lease contract, like early termination clause, diplomatic clause and your special requirements etc.  
 
The third issue is if the landlord wants to sell his/her house during your lease term, in order not to disturb you too much, there should be a clause regarding this issue listed on the lease contract. You can use the following description as this clause: if the landlord wants to sell the house during the lease term, on the premise of not disturbing tenants, the landlord needs to discuss with the tenant when is suitable for the tenant to receive visitors and then make a visiting arrangement. Our usual practice for this issue is: the tenant allows buyers to have a visit during a certain time once a week, for example, 2pm-4pm on Saturday.
 
Besides, you need to add a clause if the house is sold during your lease term. You can use the description below: in case the house is sold during the lease term, the new buyer must take over this lease contract and maintain all original terms and conditions listed on the lease contract until the lease term expires according to the lease contract.
 
The fourth question is a more important clause for you, for your sake of interest, you should mention it on your lease contract, which is: the rent needs to be kept the same as the first year during the lease term, there is no rent increase. This clause is to prevent landlords from increasing rent one year later.

 
7. What do you need to pay attention to after the signature of the lease contract?

First, you need to pay the first payment including a security deposit and the first time rent in accordance with the time stipulated in the contract. In general, it is required to pay it before moving in. And please do remember to take a receipt from bank and ask your landlord to provide a receipt or invoice for you.
 
Second, before moving in, your agent needs to come on site to check whether the house is ready for moving in, whether there is something not ready yet. And your agent needs to ask the landlord to do it as soon as possible and make sure that all things are ready before lease starting date.
 
Third, your agent needs to take all necessary photos of the house as a record and send these photos to both parties, the landlord and you, in order to prevent the landlord from saying that something is damaged by you.

 
8. What do you need to pay attention to during the procedure of checking in?

During the procedure of checking in, your landlord will do a house handover with you, and your agent is also on site. The most important thing for you in this procedure is that you need to get all necessary pieces from your landlord and record down what you have received on the handover form, such as how many keys, entrance card, water card, gas card and electricity card etc.
 
The next important thing in this procedure is you ask your landlord to show you the reading meters of water, gas and electricity and record them down correctly on the handover form. Please be careful when your landlord record down the reading meters of hot water and cold water. It happens sometimes, the landlord wrote down cold water as hot water by careless. In such a case, the tenant might be asked to pay more if the tenant or his agent did not find out this mistake, as the hot water is more expensive than cold water.
 
In addition, you ask your landlord to explain how and where to pay for water, gas and electricity to you. And at the same time, you ask your landlord to give you the contact information of the property management and let him/her to take you to see where the property office is.

 
9. What do you need to pay attention to during your lease term?

When you are living in the house during your lease term, the most important thing to you is safety. You need to pay attention to safety when using water, gas and electricity. Meanwhile, if you have kid(s), you need to pay attention to the things which are dangerous for your kid(s).
 
Second, please pay your rent and some expenses like water, gas, electricity on time. And please take a receipt or an invoice when you pay no matter it is rent or deposit or water, gas, electricity, and please keep them well, as you might need them later.
 
Third, please take a good care of the house during the period of residence, in that case, the landlord will feel better when he/she refunds your security deposit.
 
Fourth, please issue a written notice to landlord in accordance with the time stipulated on the contract if you want to extend your lease term.
 
Please do not hesitate to call your agent or property management or landlord if you need help. 


10. What do you need to pay attention to during the procedure of checking out?

When your lease term is going to expire, and you do not extend, you need to notify the landlord in advance in accordance with the time stipulated on your lease contract. And then you need to prepare for checking out.
 
Next, a very important thing you need to do is you need to reserve a moving service as early as possible especially for an international moving. Under normal condition, an international moving service needs to be booked 2 months in advance.
 
The third thing you need to do is please make sure that all rent payments or related bills have been paid before you check out.
 
Next, your agent will come on site to do the check out with you. And during check out, please make sure that all reading meters of water, gas and electricity are recorded down on the handover form correctly. And once check out is completed, both you and your landlord need to sign on the handover form, and then you take a photo of all pages of this handover form as a record in case you need it later.
 
Finally, your landlord will need to refund your security deposit in accordance with the time stipulated on your lease contract if the handover is smooth and there is no dispute between you and your landlord.
 
In conclusion, I need to tell you that all issues which I mentioned in this article, you should pay attention to. Even though your agent is a professional and responsible one, and some issues you don't have to worry about. But I think you know better, therefore I wrote this article. As long as you are a foreigner coming to work in Beijing, and you are not familiar with Beijing, this article will be helpful to you.


Remarks: this article applies to all types of properties in Beijing. No matter apartments, serviced apartments, courtyards or villas, they are called house or houses in this article.