The High-Rise Hijinks of Joe and the Crafty Landlord

Once upon a time in the bustling tech bubble of Shenzhen, there lived a South African adventurer named Joe. Joe, having tamed the fiery dragon of the Chinese language at Shenzhen University, decided to stick around and sprinkle his newfound linguistic magic at a local tech firm.

Our hero had once bunked in the humble abodes of student dormitory life, but graduation bestowed upon him the quest for a new lair. With a wallet brimming with dreams (and a fair bit of cash), Joe snagged a cozy one-bedroom fortress in the kingdom of Nanshan for a princely sum of 6000 coins a month.

Enter the Landlord, a shrewd wizard of real estate with a collection of over 50 urban caves. This streetwise sorcerer once looked upon a humble village and saw a vision of soaring towers of gold. In a move that would make a dragon envious, he hoarded houses like they were going out of fashion, thanks to a prophecy of renovation riches. To top it off, he played a game of nocturnal Jenga, stacking floors upon floors in the moonlight to maximize his loot.

Meanwhile, Joe, our gallant expat, had grown fond of the Shenzhen hustle. With no desire to return to the lions and veld of his motherland, he found himself at the end of his year-long lease scroll.

The Landlord had deployed a Rental Knight to oversee his fiefdom of apartments, a man with a heart of stone and pockets yearning to be filled. This agent, upon finding a new squire willing to cough up 6500 coins, tossed Joe’s contract into the wind without a second thought.

Joe, in a bold counter-offer, threw his own 6500 coins into the ring, but the Rental Knight was blinded by the glisten of a fresh commission. So, Joe faced the looming specter of eviction.

What will become of our intrepid tenant? Will the new squire claim the throne, or will Joe invoke ancient renters’ law to stay in his castle in the clouds? And if the Landlord decides to sell, what mystical rights will protect our hero?

Law In A Minute

In accordance with the provisions set forth by the Civil Code, the incumbent tenant possesses a preferential right to renew the lease under equivalent terms. Joe, having proposed a matching rental payment as that of the prospective new tenant, cannot be lawfully evicted.

The prospective tenant is entitled to seek damages from the landlord for the breach of contract. It is pertinent to clarify that the agent acts merely as a representative of the landlord, not as an independent contracting party. The landlord, having delegated the authority to lease the property to the agent, remains the principal party, referred to as Party A, in the lease agreement. Subsequent to the landlord’s settlement of damages to the prospective tenant, the landlord retains the right to pursue indemnification from the agent.

Should the landlord decide to divest the property, Joe holds what is referred to as the right of first refusal, or pre-emptive right. This right ensures that Joe has precedence to acquire the property under identical conditions to those offered to any potential purchaser, with the exception of instances where the interested buyer is a relative of the landlord or a co-owner of the property.

It is imperative to note that “identical conditions” necessitate an offer of the same monetary value tendered simultaneously. Offers comprised of staggered payments, or those structured as installment plans, do not satisfy the criterion of sameness and therefore do not trigger the right of first refusal.

Legal Basis

Civil Code

Article 726

In the event that a lessor intends to sell the leased property, the lessor is obliged to notify the lessee within a reasonable period prior to the sale, and the lessee shall have the right to purchase the property with priority under the same conditions; however, this right does not apply in cases where a co-owner of the property exercises their pre-emptive purchase right, or where the lessor sells the property to a close relative.

Should the lessor fulfill the obligation to notify, and the lessee fails to express their intention to purchase within fifteen days, it shall be deemed that the lessee has waived their pre-emptive purchase right.

Article 734

Upon the expiration of the lease term, should the lessee continue to occupy the leased property without objection from the lessor, the original lease contract shall remain in effect; however, the term of the lease shall be deemed to be of an indefinite period.

Upon the expiration of the lease term for a property, the lessee shall possess the right to renew the lease on preferential terms equivalent to the original lease conditions.