City 'ants' face eviction from colonies
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Although she is no longer living in the block, Xu is suing her neighbor for 117,000 yuan in compensation and is demanding the number of renters is reduced. The case is still awaiting an outcome and Xu said she has grown impatient with administrative departments passing the buck.
"I've complained to several offices, including the mayor's, but all I've got back are excuses that it's another department's responsibility," she said. "If the government keeps doing nothing, this new rule will be nothing more than wastepaper."
According to the details of the regulation, the move is aimed at protecting tenants' rights and safety. Landlords will be barred from issuing rent hikes and could be liable in the event of an accident or fire.
An information official at the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development declined to comment when contacted by China Daily. However, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency, Jiang Wanrong, deputy director of the ministry's real estate market supervision, said conversions of houses and apartments affected the structures and posed potential dangers. In addition, tenants' rights cannot be guaranteed under such circumstances, which could prove a drain on public resources if it leads to a spike in disputes, he said.
"Renting a house or apartment and sharing with others is allowed," he added. "Dividing rooms into several units to rent to groups of people is not."
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