Beijing has banned Airbnb-style short-term lettings in the heart of the Chinese capital citing security concerns.
It is part of a move to tighten control of short-term apartment rentals across the city and to ensure safety in the “core central administrative zone”, an area of 92.5 sq km (35.7 sq miles) around the Forbidden City and the Zhongnanhai compound that houses the top Chinese leadership, according to a directive issued by four government agencies.
The new policy left business operations scrambling to adapt before the new rules come into force in February.
Lin Liang, who lets out a short-term property in Dongcheng, one of the districts affected by the ruling, said he faced the choice of shutting his business or offering longer-term lets to comply with the directive – both options that are likely to cost him money.
He pays 20,000 yuan (US$3,000) a month to rent a two-bedroom house with a yard in one of Beijing’s historic hutongs and has spent nearly 400,000 yuan renovating it to turn it into a self-service appartment. The property is too small for him to gain a hotel licence and he has not yet broken even but does not want to close the business.
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“There is no definition of long-term so to be safe I probably would need to find a tenant for more than six months. I probably would need to cut the rent to find potential tenants, which means it will take longer to recover the costs,” Lin said.
Short-term lets are still legal outside the zone but will be subject to stricter regulation. Those letting out apartments will need to obtain approval from the house owners committee and meet certain health and safety standards.
All short-term rental operators will also be obliged to check the tenants’ identity cards in person and register their information. They will also be banned from renting to people who cannot produce valid identity documents.
Zhao Qingxiang, secretary general of Beijing Real Estate Agency Association, said the website of the Beijing Commission of Housing and Urban Development had identified short-term lettings as a potential security threat.
“Some operators do not meet tenants and it’s common for one person to book the apartment but have several people staying there. Neither the landlord nor the operators or the authorities know exactly who is staying in the apartment and what they are doing,” Zhao said.
“Short-term rental housing that is out of control can easily become a hiding place for prostitutes, drug addicts or even terrorists.”
Zhao said short-term lettings in residential buildings also generated a lot of complaints from residents.
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A draft version of the regulations that was put out for public consultation in August prompted a debate about whether people needed to get approval from the house owners committee to rent their own properties.
But Yin Fei, a professor of law with the Central University of Finance and Economics, said the article was in line with China’s Civil Code and those renting out spare space must not disturb other home owners.
“The protection of the interests of stakeholders, especially those of the neighbours, is part of the basic civil code and a common practice in foreign legal systems,” Yin said.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Beijing bans Airbnb-style lettings in heart of city
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