魔方公寓定义租住生活新方式 - 2017年12月13日

A QUEEN-size bed, wardrobe, one-seat sofa, desk and chair, TV, air conditioner, washing machine, refrigerator and microwave oven. Check! All amenities accounted for in a standard Mofang rental flat. What’s missing here is lots of space.

Shanghai-based Mofang is China’s biggest institutional rental apartment company, with a presence in 20 major cities. It provides what some might call “efficiency” apartments — small, furnished units targeted at young white-collar workers priced out of the homebuying market. It’s a home at a hefty price.

A 30-square-meter unit in a downtown complex on Jiangning Road costs renters 6,800 yuan (US$1,026), excluding utility fees that usually add up to about 300 yuan per month on average. Leases range from one to 12 months. Renters who stay six months or longer receive a 10 percent discount. Those who pay by quarter instead of monthly avoid an extra 100-a-month charge, and all renters must pay a deposit equal to one month’s rent.