As most of companies that cooperate with SII in China do not provide accommodation, so if you apply for business internship in China, you’ll need to find a house by yourself. Looking for a good flat in China is not easy for expats especially when you don’t know much about the city. Here are some tips for you to find a house.
1.Choose SII accommodation package-the most convenient way
If you think it’s too complicated to find a house by your own, you can choose accommodation package provided by SII Sichuan Internships and Immersion Programs which is 330 euro per month.
Sichuan Internships and Immersion Programs has apartments for international interns who are doing an internship in China. These apartments will provide you a private bedroom, the comfort of the home, necessary furniture. It’s usually with a good location. You will also get to know other international interns all over the world, make some new friends and have a good opportunity of building up your own social networks.
Joining our intern apartment will save your time, money and a lot of headache searching for an accommodation through local agents. You will much safer knowing that there is a place ready for you when landing in China.
SII Intern Apartments include:
- High level apartment facility with a single bedroom for each occupant
- Air conditioning unit in each bedroom.
- Full kitchen outlets
- Shared bathroom with 24 hours hot water
- Free WIFI
- 24/7 hours service by SII
(Note: The living deposit is not included. Interns need to give the living deposit to our House manager when you move in. It is refundable if there is nothing broken in the house.)
2.Find an estate agent to assist you
Except choosing SII accommodation package, you can also find accommodation on your own. The price of rent in Chengdu is very reasonable, especially if you decide to share the apartment, you’ll find plenty of options too. Please check normal price ranges and averages as below:
Some of our interns will choose to stay in cheap hostel at the beginning, it only costs 7 or 8 euro (60 or 70 yuan) per night, so you’ll have time to look for a flat. If you go it alone, estate agents can assist with the process, just expect to pay an agency fee of usually 1 month’s rent. However, not so many agents can speak English, I would recommend finding a Chinese friend to accompany you or have a good translation app.
You can download Lianjia app. It has all the listings there, so you can find places you’re interested in beforehand to show the agent and speed up the process, but the website is all in Chinese, so the Google Translate browser plug in is needed.
3.Payment and lease of rent in China
All property owners will ask for at least 3 months of rent, along with the initial 1 month deposit, while some asking for 6 months or more. This means you’re going to be initially spending at least 4 months’ rent to secure an apartment. Generally speaking, the bigger month blocks you pay in, the cheaper it is per month.
The leases are usually at least for one year, you’d be able to secure one for half year and if you do, the rent will probably be higher.
4.Other cost
Water, gas and electricity are done either through the community office or via a meter and top up card. You can top up your card at the local Hong Qi market chain via the cashier or a machine. Wi-Fi can be set up through the various providers inducing China Telecom and China Unicom. Your passport is needed to register an account. Price starts at around 101 yuan for a month of 8 Mbps internet. You can pay chunks of time up front or you have to go to the store to top up credit every month.
5.Necessary documents required for Accommodation registration
Every expat needs to register in the police station once enter China. If you live in international hostel, usually your accommodation information will upload to police system automatically. After you find apartment in China, you need to go to police station to do a registration. It requires these documents:
- Your passport
- Photocopies of your passport’s photo page, visa page, and latest China entry stamp
- The original lease contract and an extra copy of the contract.
- A copy of landlord’s ID and property certificate, landlord’s phone number
- Your Chinese phone number
Therefore, when you are looking for the apartment, it’s important to ask the landlord or estate agents if they can provide the copy of landlord’s ID and property certificate.
Leave A Comment