SHENZHEN residential tenants were facing inflationary rent increases following rises in the fourth quarter of 2010. The rises were expected to continue, the city s home rental management office said at the weekend.
Tenants had to pay 10.8 percent more in rent in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the office.
The average rent for an apartment reached 41 yuan per square meter in Shenzhen during the period.
The fourth quarter was usually a low season for home leases because large numbers of migrant workers returned home.
But last year s rents rose because of increasingly severe inflation and an active housing sales market, according to the office.
A woman surnamed Wang, who lives in the Meilin area in Futian District, complained she would have to pay 2,800 yuan (US$424) a month for her two-bedroom apartment in February, 500 yuan more than in January.
It is too much, she said. What s more, they [the landlords] increase the rent as much as they like. We can t afford a home of our own. So what can we do but accept it?
Another resident, identified as Wang, had to buy an apartment of his own after he was fed up with increasing home rents.
He said the rent for a single-bedroom apartment in Bagualing, Futian District, has been raised from 1,300 yuan to 1,700 yuan.
I m worried about future hikes, he said.
The home rental management office said it published a home rent guide for each district each year.
It (the rent) was determined by supply and demand.
According to the office, the population of migrants boosted demand for home renting while rising housing prices had deterred many from buying a home.
Chen Aipin, vice chairman of Shenzhen s housing research association, urged the government to establish an agency to enhance management of the home rental market. (Vivian Li)
