Mandarin for a Shanghai flat viewing (看房 / kànfáng)

The listing is on 贝壳 (Bèiké) or 链家 (Liánjiā). The person who meets you is usually an agent, not the owner. Twenty minutes in a 一室户 (yīshìhù), then they want a 押金 (yājīn) and a 中介费 (zhōngjiè fèi), and they will talk as if those two words are the same money. They are not.

The Mandarin housing phrase page has the short lines for the door. This is the rest: the message that books the 看房 (kànfáng), the 水电煤 (shuǐ diàn méi) that are not the rent, and Shanghai’s own rules — the 住房租赁条例 (zhùfáng zūlìn tiáolì) and the older 居住房屋租赁管理办法 on how large a 租赁保证金 (zūlìn bǎozhèngjīn) may be if the contract is silent.

This is not the 临时住宿登记 (línshí zhùsù dēngjì). That is the 派出所 (pàichūsuǒ) the day you get the keys.

The message that gets you a 看房 (kànfáng)

A Shanghai ad is a code. 一室户 (yīshìhù) is a studio. 两房 (liǎng fáng) is two bedrooms. 押一付三 (yā yī fù sān) is one month deposit and three months’ rent up front. 中介费 (zhōngjiè fèi) is the agent’s cut, often a month. 包物业 (bāo wùyè) is the management fee inside the rent — ask anyway.

A message that works:

你好，我在贝壳上看到[小区]的房子。还空着吗？今天下午可以看房吗？我是[名字]，十二月到上海。

Nǐ hǎo, wǒ zài Bèiké shàng kàndào [xiǎoqū] de fángzi. Hái kōng zhe ma? Jīntiān xiàwǔ kěyǐ kànfáng ma? Wǒ shì [míngzi], shí'èr yuè dào Shànghǎi.

还空着吗？ (hái kōng zhe ma) and 今天下午可以看房吗？ (jīntiān xiàwǔ kěyǐ kànfáng ma) are already on the housing page. Keep it short. Agents get a pile of “available??” in English.

What you actually ask in the flat

They will say 进来看。 (jìnlái kàn) You walk. Do not narrate the sofa.

• 水电费包含在内吗？ (shuǐdiàn fèi bāohán zài nèi ma) — Are utilities included?
• 押金多少？ (yājīn duōshao) — How much is the deposit?
• 中介费多少？ (zhōngjiè fèi duōshao) — How much is the agent fee?
• 我什么时候可以搬进来？ (wǒ shénme shíhou kěyǐ bān jìnlái) — When can I move in?
• 房子有家具吗？ (fángzi yǒu jiājù ma) — Is the flat furnished?
• 合同是一年的吗？ (hétong shì yì nián de ma) — Is the contract for one year?
• 可以网签备案吗？ (kěyǐ wǎngqiān bèi'àn ma) — Can we register the lease online?
• 房东是产权人吗？ (fángdōng shì chǎnquán rén ma) — Is the landlord the title holder?

浴室有潮湿 (yùshì yǒu cháoshī) is already on the housing page. Point, name it, take a photo. Ask 水 (shuǐ), 电 (diàn), 燃气 (ránqì), 物业 (wùyè), 网 (wǎng) by name. 水电费包含 (shuǐdiàn fèi bāohán) is often only water, or only a cap.

If it is a 合租 (hézū), you are interviewing flatmates: how many people, the house rules, and whether you can register lodging at this address.

Money words that are different in Shanghai

押金 (yājīn) is the deposit. 中介费 (zhōngjiè fèi) is the agent. Do not let them glue the two into one “fee.” Shanghai’s ordinance puts extra deposit from a rental company (more than one month) into a supervised account. The 2011 measures say that if the contract does not name a 租赁保证金 (zūlìn bǎozhèngjīn), it may not exceed two months’ rent. Ask for 网签备案 (wǎngqiān bèi'àn) — the city wants the lease on the housing-rental platform. A WeChat transfer to an agent’s personal account with no contract is not a plan.

Other words that show up the day you sign:

• 中介费 (zhōngjiè fèi) — ask whether it is one month, and whether renewal costs another. Renewal without new work should not mint a second commission.
• 转租 (zhuǎnzū) — sublet. If they are not the owner, ask for the owner’s paper.
• 提前退房 (tíqián tuìfáng) — leaving early. Get the notice in the contract.
• 押金什么时候退？ (yājīn shénme shíhou tuì) — When is the deposit returned?

If you want it: 我想租。下一步怎么做？ (wǒ xiǎng zū. xià yí bù zěnme zuò) If you do not: 谢谢，我再看看。 (xièxie, wǒ zài kànkan) You do not owe them a speech about the damp.