Guide to renting a house or apartment in Guangzhou (Price and notes)

Foreigners who plan to come to China or are already in China, if you are coming to study, work or do business, and are ready to live in Guangzhou for a long time, the first problem you need to solve is renting a house in Guangzhou. As a local in Guangzhou, I will share with you the prices of renting houses in Guangzhou and some precautions.

Basic situation of Guangzhou

As a Guangzhou native, let me first introduce you to the basic situation of Guangzhou.

Guangzhou is one of the four major cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Guangzhou is located in the south of China,

There are a total of 11 administrative districts, Tianhe, Yuexiu, Liwan, Haizhu, Panyu, Baiyun, Huangpu, Conghua, Zengcheng, Huadu, and Nansha. Among them, Tianhe, Yuexiu, Liwan, and Haizhu are the city center, and Huangpu, Conghua, Zengcheng, Huadu, and Nansha are the suburbs of Guangzhou. Baiyun District is the old city of Guangzhou, and the houses and streets are relatively old.

Look at the map. I have marked it for you. The red circle is the prosperous central urban area of Guangzhou. The rent and living expenses are more expensive than those in the surrounding areas.

Rent prices in Guangzhou

According to data from real estate rental websites, the average rent in Guangzhou in October 2024 is RMB 60.25/month/㎡, among which Tianhe is the highest, at RMB 83.05/month/㎡.

If you want to rent a 70-square-meter two-bedroom and one-living room, how much is the monthly rent? Based on the average rent in each district, I calculated the rent reference value.

Tianhe: 83.05*70 = 5813 RMB

Yuexiu: 76.99*70 = 5389 RMB

Haizhu: 75.57*70 = 5289 RMB

Liwan: 63.65*70 = 4455 RMB

Huangpu: 57.33*70 = 4013 RMB

Baiyun: 48.60*70 = 3402 RMB

Panyu: 46.65*70 = 3265 RMB

Nansha: 27.71*70 = 1939 RMB

Huadu: 26.59*70 = 1861 RMB

Zengcheng: 23.89*70 = 1672 RMB

In areas with more expensive housing prices, the rental price will be about 40% higher than the average price I calculated above.

In addition to rent, what other expenses need to be paid?

Renting a house in China includes the following expenses in total: rent, deposit, agency service fee, property fee, water fee, electricity fee, and gas fee. I will explain them in this article.

If you rent a serviced apartment, some fees will be included in the rent.

Real estate agency services in Guangzhou

If you have friends or colleagues in Guangzhou, you can ask them for help and save the cost of finding real estate agency services.

On the streets of Guangzhou, you will see many real estate agency stores, usually near residential areas. You can ask them about the apartment type you need and your budget range. The real estate agency will take you to see the house. You will sign the contract and pay only if you are satisfied with the house and accept the price.

It should be noted here that it is free for the real estate agency to take you to see the house. Before signing the contract, you do not have to pay any fees to the real estate agency. Even if the real estate agent tells you that there is no house that meets your needs and needs to help you find a house, you do not have to pay for it.

Real estate agency service commission

When you rent a house in Guangzhou, the real estate agency fee is usually the amount of one month's rent, which is shared by the tenant and the landlord in half.

Example: The monthly rent of the house is 4,000 RMB, the tenant needs to pay 2,000 RMB to the agent as a reward for the agency's services, and the landlord also needs to pay 2,000 RMB to the agent.

The money you spend is an additional fee in addition to the rent, and it is paid to the real estate agent in one lump sum when the contract is signed. Whether you rent for one year or two years, you only need to pay the agency fee once.

The service fee standards of different agencies may vary, but the difference will not be too big.

Other costs of renting a house in Guangzhou

Houses in China are bought out by the owner in one lump sum, and do not need to pay property taxes to the state every month like some countries.

Property management fee

After renting a house, tenants need to pay property management fees, which include a series of services such as cleaning, sewage treatment, garbage disposal, greening maintenance, and campus security.

The property management fee is calculated according to the area of the house, that is, how much per square meter, generally between 2 and 4 yuan. The price of property management fees in each community is different according to the construction time and property service standards of each community.

Example: If you rent a house with an area of 70 square meters, the property management fee is 3 yuan per square meter, then the total property management fee is 210 yuan. The property management fee is charged on a monthly basis and must be paid every month.

When renting a house in Guangzhou, the property management fee is generally borne by the tenant. If you rent a serviced apartment, the rent may include the property management fee or not, and it needs to be confirmed when signing the contract.

Water, electricity and gas fees

China's water, electricity and gas fees are relatively cheap because the government will limit prices and does not allow high charges. Gas fees may be higher than those in major natural gas producing countries because China's energy mainly relies on imports. But China's electricity bills are very cheap, allowing everyone to use electricity freely.

China's electricity bills are charged according to a tiered system, and the general principle is that the more you use, the more expensive it is.

Let's take a look at the regulations on Guangzhou's residential tiered electricity prices from May to October 2024.

When residents' monthly electricity consumption is 260 kWh (inclusive) or less, it is charged at about 0.589 yuan per kWh.

When the monthly electricity consumption is 261 kWh to 600 kWh, an additional 0.05 yuan per kWh is charged, that is, about 0.639 yuan per kWh.

When the monthly electricity consumption reaches 601 kWh or more, an additional 0.30 yuan per kWh is charged, that is, about 0.889 yuan per kWh.

Example: The most power-consuming is the air conditioner. A one-horsepower air conditioner uses about 1 kWh of electricity per hour, which is about 0.7 yuan. If you use 300 kWh of electricity a month, it will be 210 yuan.

Water charges

China's water prices are also charged in a tiered manner. Due to the complexity of the algorithm, we will not elaborate on it in detail. The average water supply price in Guangzhou is RMB 3.4/cubic meter (tax included).

Example: Two people living together, washing machine, bathing, cooking water, about 50 to 100 yuan per month, compared with the cost of rent, this part of the cost is not much.

Gas charges

Gas is mainly used for cooking and bathing. Most water heaters used for bathing are gas water heaters. Even the kitchen faucet, many houses are connected to gas water heaters, can use hot water 24 hours a day.

The gas fee is about 4.42 yuan/cubic meter. For a family of two people, cooking one meal a day, plus the gas used for bathing, the monthly cost is less than RMB 100.

Rental deposit

The rental deposit is to prevent the tenant from maliciously damaging the room. In order to avoid this kind of loss, the landlord will collect 2 months' rent as a deposit, and then return it to the tenant after the contract expires.

For example: if the rent is RMB 4,000 per month, you need to pay RMB 8,000 to the landlord as a deposit when signing the contract.

Fee payment and process

We have listed all the fees clearly, let's take a look at when you need to pay these fees.

When signing the rental contract, you need to pay 1 month's rent, 2 months' deposit and real estate agency service fee.

The landlord will send you a bill for property fees, water fees, electricity fees, and gas fees after one or two months. You pay the money to the landlord and the landlord pays on your behalf. You don't need to pay it to the power company and the water company separately.

If you live in China, you must use Alipay and WeChat, at least one of them. Chinese people use WeChat very frequently, and I personally recommend you to use WeChat.

When signing the contract, add the landlord as a WeChat friend. If you encounter any problems, you can directly contact the landlord through WeChat. Property fees can also be transferred directly to the landlord through WeChat payment, which is very convenient.

Guangzhou rental contract period

In China, renting a house is done on an annual basis, and you need to sign a one-year lease with the landlord. If you rent a house through a real estate agency, you need to sign a three-party contract with the landlord and the agency. After one year, if you want to renew the lease, you can sign a renewal contract directly with the landlord. Without going through a real estate agency, you and the landlord can save an agency service fee.

If you do not renew the lease after the expiration, the landlord will return your rental deposit. If you check out early, the deposit will not be returned to you, and you will be liable for breach of contract.

Now some apartments in Guangzhou can be rented for short periods of time, such as 1 month or 3 months. You need to negotiate with the landlord. There are relatively few residential houses or apartments that can be rented for short periods of time. Landlords prefer to rent on an annual basis. The shorter the rental period, the higher the average daily rental price.

Some precautions during the rental period

Don't scribble on the walls, for example, you can't paint a huge landscape painting on a white wall. Also, do not drill holes in the wall or install electrical appliances. You must ask for the landlord's consent, otherwise it will be considered as damage to the house, and the landlord may ask you for compensation according to the terms of the contract.

After the rental contract expires, you need to clean the house and hand it over to the landlord. If you don't have time to clean, you can negotiate with the landlord and pay a certain fee for the landlord to hire someone to clean. It is the default rule in the industry for the tenant to clean, which is different from staying in a hotel.

If you encounter problems such as broken electrical appliances or leaking faucets during the rental period, you can directly contact the landlord and ask the landlord to find someone to repair it. In principle, as long as it is not man-made damage by you, these repair costs do not need to be borne by the tenant.

Written at the end

The basic situation of renting a house in Guangzhou is introduced here. If you want to know more details, you can contact me. As a Guangzhou person, I believe I can give you some useful suggestions.