Homestay Beijing 2008

Terms & Conditions

*** IMPORTANT CHANGES EFFECTIVE PER AUGUST 5, 2007 ***

On this page you can read resp. an explanation of the main terms & conditions for people who want to rent an available homestay (tenants) and for people who want to sublet their apartment, villa or courtyard (landlords).

In general we will never use any of the personal details you omit via this website for other purposes than contacting you in relation to the homestay(s) you want to rent or have to offer. We will never sell or give out your details to any third parties.

On this website you can find links to other websites. We do not endorse them, nor are they under our control and therefore are not responsible in any way for the content of these sites.

By using the Homestay Beijing 2008 website and the services we offer, you accept the terms and conditions as listed below. If you cannot accept one, some or any of these terms and conditions, we kindly advise you to close this browser window.

Terms & Conditions for tenants

A sample of the full contract is available for download here.

A tenant is anybody who wants to rent available homestay accommodation during their stay in Beijing.

The procedure of booking homestay accommodation starts on the moment you contact us via the contact form for tenants on this website and therefore you accept these terms and conditions in full.

After the initial contact we will check for you whether the homestay accommodation requested by you is still available during the period you wish to stay there.

If the availibilty is as per your request we immediately book the homestay for you. This booking is tentative.

We will then send you a confirmation email with a legal contract and instructions to make your booking a solid one. To turn a tentative booking into a solid one means that you have to pay us a booking fee (on top of the rent) of 20% of the total rent (rent per night times nights you stay), with a minimum of one night's rental. You can pay this booking fee by bank transfer; payment instructions will be included in the email you receive from us. The exchange rate we use is the cash rate of the day we send you the notice of payment. The cash rate is the interbank rate +4%; this is not negotiable. Any transfer costs that occur are for your account.

After we have confirmed receipt of the service fee we will send you another email to confirm solid booking of your homestay for the requested period. We will also by that time have confirmed the solid booking with the landlord of your homestay accommodation.

Payment of rent for your homestay
Homestay Beijing 2008 needs to receive half of the total rent upon booking. The other half of the total rent is due no later than 30 (thirty) days before your arrival. All costs of transfer are for your own account.
The total rent paid by you will be transfered to the landlord in the first days after your arrival.

If, for whatever reason, you have to cancel your booking, we will not return the paid booking fee and/or rental payments. Paid booking fee and/or rental payments cannot be used for a new booking.

It is your responsibility to inform us on the exact date and time you arrive in Beijing, so we can inform the landlord of your arrival.

You understand and accept that upon arrival the landlord will request a deposit (usually around EUR 1,000; can be paid in foreign currency) and you will together sign a checklist of the valuable household effects present at the homestay. There might be some cabinets sealed with tape with the Homestay Beijing 2008 logo. You can under no circumstances break any of those seals.

If after your stay any of the items on the checklist are damaged or missing and/or any of the seals are broken, the landlord does not have to return your deposit. If all is in the same state as at the start of the renting period, the landlord has to return the paid deposit in full.

Although you can never hold us liable for any dispute between you and the landlord, if a dispute occurs, you will immediately inform us and we will assist to solve the dispute if possible.

Terms & Conditions for landlords

A sample of the full contract is available for download here.

A landlord is anybody who currently rents or owns an apartment, villa or courtyard in Beijing and wants to let or sublet it to people visiting Beijing.

The procedure of offering your accommodation as homestay on our website starts on the moment you contact us via the contact form for landlords on this website and therefore you accept these terms and conditions in full.

After the initial contact we make an appointment with you for an interview. During this interview we take pictures of your accommodation and you can give us all necessary additional information. Especially important during this interview is that you inform us about the period(s) of time your accommodation is available for homestay and you contractually agree to this time.

You understand and accept that you have to pay a profile fee of RMB 300 to put your profile online. This fee can only be paid in cash RMB and has to be paid during the interview. No fapiao or shouju will be given for this payment. Proof of payment will be included in the contract we make with you and sign together.

After a tenant has booked your home (i.e. we have received our commission from the tenant) we will sign a legal contract with you and charge you a commitment fee of 1 (one) day's rent, deducted with the RMB 300 profile fee, to ensure you honour your contract with Homestay Beijing 2008.

After you have agreed to having a tenant stay at your home for the requested time, cancellation is not possible. If you do not honour your agreement with us, we will have to take legal action against you.

Therefore, cancellation of the contract by you at any time for any reason will automatically result in non-reimbursement of any of the fees, even if after your cancellation another tenant comes to rent your accommodation.

Within a few days after your tenants have arrived, we will transfer the total rent (minus bank transfer costs) as well as the commitment fee; although you receive the commitment fee in the same currency you have given it to us, we will transfer the total rent in EUR or USD to an account specified by you.

Upon arrival of your tenants you will charge them a deposit, together go over the checklist (supplied by us), check which cabinets/doors/etc. are sealed (marking tape supplied by us) and sign this list. We recommend the deposit to be in a foreign currency.

If tenant breaks any of the seals and/or damages any of your household effects you do not have to pay back the deposit. It is your sole responsibity to check this before your tenant leaves. If you discover any broken seals, missing or damaged household effects after your tenants has left, Homestay Beijing 2008 will not be liable in any way.

Although you can never hold us liable for any dispute between you and tenant, if a dispute occurs, you will immediately inform us and we will assist to solve the dispute if possible.

Homestay Beijing 2008 reserves the right to change, modify or amend these terms and conditions without prior notice; last update on August 5, 2007.

By use of the services of Homestay Beijing 2008 you agree to the above terms and conditions.