Shanghai investors with homes larger than 120 square meters now have an easier way to rent their apartments out. They can now partition them into about 10 small units, each about 10 square meters. Is it legal and safe?

China Drive Shanghai correspondent Xiaoyu finds out more.

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Renting a nice but affordable apartment in Shanghai is all but an impossible dream for most young migrants. At the same time, home owners find it increasingly difficult to rent or sell apartments larger than 120 square meters. These two groups seem to have finally found a mutually beneficial solution.

Chen Jie, a jobseeker in Shanghai from Hangzhou, said she was happy when she found a decent apartment for rent on the Internet. However, when she went to have a look, she was surprised to find she had more than 10 roommates.

"The description of the apartment on the Internet was very good. However, when I got there, I found many people were living together. The apartment with three bedrooms and two living rooms was separated into 10 units."

It's definitely a good deal for the home owner. It's difficult to find an individual who can pay over 4,000 yuan per month. Selling the apartment means the original home owner must pay at least 10,000 yuan in tax. There's little risk to rent it out to several tenants to guarantee at least four to 5,000 yuan of rental income per month.

The flat may offer only basic furniture and even sometimes bunkbeds, as well as basic toilet facilities, but the low price of several hundred yuan per month per unit is hard to resist. The 500 yuan, or about 60 US dollars, monthly rent helped Chen Jie decide to live in one of the 10 units. It didn't take long before the problems started.

"There were many strangers who didn't know anything about the others. It was natural to worry about my safety and belongings. Short-term tenants were living with long-term ones. When I used the washroom, I had to think of whether to lock my bedroom door."

While it's regulated by the local government the average living space per capita can't be less than 10 square meters, it's hard to check and punish those operating against the law. Problems involving public security, fire control and tax evasion exist without any control.

Tan Zhengming works at Shanghai Xinhu Property Agent. Home partitions in the area he works in are common. He says it's difficult to control them.

"A 120-square-meter apartment can only accommodate 12 people. It's illegal to have 13. The owner doesn't pay rental taxes and there are potential fire and accident dangers. However, there is no department to do anything. It's difficult to enforce the laws."

It is reported the local legislature is drafting detailed and easy-to-enforce regulations to limit the number of tenants. 

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