@Alien that a very good idea.

Hi there

It seems it really is a hassle to rent property to us foreigners. Either that or the landlords are extremely racist!?

Me and a friend were both looking to rent recently. (seperate places) We had quite a bit of trouble with finding a place. We would go to view (through an estate agent) decide to take the place, everything seemed fine. On meeting with the landlord, after he or she realised we were foreign, they suddenly backed out because 'it was too mafan to rent to a foreigner' This happened twice for me and three times for my friend. What a pain in the ass! Is it REALLY more troublesome to rent to a foreigner?

Whether or not it is 'tai mafan' to rent to foreigners, it would seem from some reports that the perception exists amongst some landlords in Kunming. Personally, I have only experienced the opposite in China - landlords who welcome having foreigners because they know that they are relatively well paid and perceive foreigners as much cleaner and tidier than Chinese tenants.

I've seen troublesome foreigners who rent and those who are not troublesome - my guess is that most landlords who respond thgis way have either had bad experiences with foreigners, or have had no experiences with foreigners and simply don't want to take a chance on an unfamiliar arrangement. Might seem like continuation of fairly well-documented historical Chinese xenophobia, but the problem is that lack of experience of things unfamiliar leads to xenophobia and xenophobia leads to limitations on experience. This is not the same as racism, though it can accompany it. I'm foreign and I've had my landlady for many years and we get along fine.

Do these people who randomly claim racism actually speak enough Chinese to communicate with their landlord in case of emergency?
Regarding bad experiences, there s a reputation for foreigners to be troublesome and inconsiderate to their neighbours. During my time in Beijing, it was not unusual for westerners to throw floor parties in the middle of the week in residential areas where old people lived

I think it's the few that spoil it for the rest of us. Many foreigners think that China is their playground and they can do what they do in their home country. I can understand why a landlord would be careful to rent to a foreigner not knowing if that foreigner is a 'wild party animal' that will destroy or disrupt their apartment or neighbors. Too bad for those few that fuck it up for the many good.

Note to self: don't move to the high tech district.

surely old people are the best neighbours to disturb - they don't have any work to get up for! ;)

haha @ Haali

As I understand it, the contract, when given to the PSB, is a source for collecting tax. The tax rate on rental income is 20%.

As Chinese do not need to register their residence, their rent payments may not be reported as income by the landlord.

Clearly foreigners would pay more rent than locals because the contracted rents are known and taxed. Also the landlord might expose other undeclared income by providing a recorded contract.