Shanghai homestay,shanghai housing ,homestayglobal,FAQ housing

How much are the monthly fees for homestay in Shanghai?: The homestay fees vary according to the level of accommodation such as the residence location, the traffic condition, the surrounding environment and the household decoration. It is from 1500 RMB to 4500 RMB in Shanghai.

Is it SAFE to live in a homestay family?: Every HSG homestay family must get approval with proper occupation and registered residence before releasing information. However, you need to pay more attention to your safety and take the responsibility by yourself.

Can I have a single room?: Of course, the host family will provide you with a single room and a single bathroom or one to share with a member of the family.

What facilities will be in my room?: The basic room facilities are bed, desk, wardrobe, air-conditioner, and the Internet. Items available in your room will be different at different places. Please check the family database for more details (You may also see pictures of your room and the host family).

Will I have my own bathroom??: Most of our family will provide you a private bathroom. Otherwise, the bathroom is shared. You can check the family database for details.

Will I get meals?: Most families will provide you breakfast and dinner, although it depends on the host' daily schedule and other personal reasons. You can check the family database for details.

May I make my own food?: Yes, if the conditions allow. But you should be normally careful and follow their kitchen hygiene, safety and habits. You should talk about that directly with the host when arriving.

Does being a vegetarian bring inconveniences (during the homestay period)?: Fear not, the host families are very hospitable, and they have the duty to respect your food habit.

Can I use the Internet and the telephone? Is it free?: In most cases, it's free for you to get access to Internet, but you had better use your personal computer. You may make local telephone calls from the host family (the fee should be consulted). All long distance calls must be made with a calling card.

May I smoke in the house?: You can only do it with the permission of the host family. You can check the family database for details.

Can I do laundry in the Homestay?: Yes. The host family will show you where the laundry facilities are.

Will I be able to watch television?: All the living facilities in the public area of unit will be available to you.

Will I have a curfew (time that I need to return to the host family each night)?: You do not have a curfew. However, it is customary that you notify your host family if you will miss dinner or will return to the house after 10pm. You will have your own keys (under your responsibility).

Can I bring friends back home to sleep?: Yes, only with the host family's permission.

Will I receive a key to the house to come in out?: Yes. You may get the key if it is permitted by the host family, under your responsibility (any loss will be charged).

Can I get necessary and useful information from my host family?: Absolutely. Your host family will be happy to provide you with all the useful information such as how to take the bus, where to buy phone card or mobile SIM card, and where the nearest bank and supermarket are. They can certainly give you helpful suggestions for your trip, etc…

Can I pay for the rent by teaching the family members foreign language?: Yes, only if it is accepted by the landlord. Please discuss the details with the landlord.

Should I register at PSB (Public Security Bureau) during my homestay?: Yes. According to the rules of the Chinese government, all foreign visitors must provide their passport information when they arrive at an accommodation. If visitors stay with a Chinese family, they need to register with the PSB. You can ask the host family to help you doing it.

How much will the host family CHARGE for the accommodation?: The fee ranges from 1500RMB to 4500RMB, depending on the accommodation conditions, such as black, transportation, surroundings, the indoor decoration and facilities. Take Shanghai as an example, if its location is in the downtown, or near your study and work place with three-room apartment and a separated bathroom, the host family can charge for 2500RMB to 3500RMB per month; two-room apartment with a shared bathroom costs 1500~2500RMB per month. Host family with excellent conditions can charge +3500RMB per month.

Is it SAFE enough to host strangers?: If you find the guest unreliable, you can refuse to offer accommodation. Before the guest moves in, you should ask him or her to show THE PASSPORT, VISA OR OTHER VALID DOCUMENTATIONS. Besides, you should ask for a copy of those credentials. Within 24 hours after the accommodation, you NEED TO take your guest to the nearby PSB for registration, leaving their address, contact number and so on. In all, you should keep the cognition of safety.

What the host families NEED TO DO for the guest?

you need to offer a clean and tidy room for the guest.

you have THE DUTY TO HELP the guest with some daily problems and help him or her with culture about China and your city. You need regard the guest as one of your family member, and communicate in Chinese. You can provide breakfast or dinner if you want.

What are the MANNERS the host family need to pay attention to?

Host families should move your personal things out before the guest moves in, In order to prevent causing some misunderstandings.

Host families should inform the guest beforehand when there are someone to visit them.

Host families should respect the guest's time table.

Host families should respect the decision the guest makes and the idea he or she has. Moreover, you are required not to interfere with the privacy of the guest.

Host families should bear the cultural differences in mind and get ready for it mentally in spite of the difficulties to get used to living with foreign guys.

Host families are required not to smoke in the public place (It is forbidden in many western countries).

How to charge the lodger for our family's INTERNET AND TELEPHONE?: Please allow the lodger to use the Internet for free. In addition, the lodger may make the local phone call and the fee could be negotiated between the two sides. All long distance calls must be made using a calling card by the lodger.

How to arrange the deal if my family member wants to LEARN the MOTHER TONGUE of the lodger?

You may ask the lodger for it directly.

You can release the rental fee according to the situation when the lodger is willing to offer the assistance to you and your families in the spare time.

Also, you and the lodger can teach the language to each other for free by offering the equal time.

What can be done to ATTRACT more foreign guests?: This is a process of two-way choice. Generally speaking, the accommodation conditions, such as the house location, the living condition and the family members, your language ability, will influence the guests' decision. What is more, your requests for the guest, for instance, motherland, mother tongue, belief, life habit……could also have some impacts on the choice of the guest. In sum, the more requirements you meet, the less you require, the greater chances you will have to be chosen as the homestay family and vice versa.

What is housing?: Housing consists in renting a house or apartment for a given period of time. It can be for 1 month to 1 year, even more. For short time, the landlord might be able to raise the price. It is a very good option for students or intern for example who are moving from 3 months to one year.

How can I add a new listing?: You need to be a Homestayglobal member, but it's free and doesn't take longer than two minutes to sign up. All listings on our housing section are free of charge.

How can I register?: Click on "register at the top of the homepage, and then follow the instructions; it will take you less than two minutes. When creating an account, a confirmation email is sent out to the email address you've provided. It should arrive within 15 minutes. If the confirmation email isn't in your inbox, check your spam box (they end up there sometimes). Click the link inside the email to active your account. You're officially registered. If after 45 minutes you still haven't received the confirmation email, contact us with your username & email address in the email and we'll sort it out for you asap.

How much will it cost?: Not that much! You can choose our packages with different prices, and then there is the rent plus the commission (between 35% and 50% of one month rate). It works the same way as all other companies, or agencies in Shanghai.

How can I pay?: You can use different ways. Either credit card (Paypal – Union Pay …), or cash. But at first, it is necessary to pay the 10% deposit.

Why Short-term requests are more difficult and Price would be more expensive?

Most of the landlords prefer long-term guests. They prefer guests who can stay more than 1 year. One year is the normal length-of-stay for 90% apartments. If you are staying one year or longer, you can have more choices than short-term staing and you can even try to bargain with the landlord for cheaper rent.

Of course, there still are some exceptions for travelers who are staying in Shanghai less than one year. BUT, you shouldn't be surprise when your rent gets higher. For it's much possible to leave a potential "Empty period " to the owner after short-term request. In case meet the special days, such as Chinese New Year or Christmas Holiday, the apartment would possible to kept empty for a long while and the owner will lost much for this.

About the Payment.: In Shanghai, Chinese people don't pay monthly rent. They normally pay 3 months in advance. For example, when you sign a contract, you pay 3 months of rent plus the deposit, which is fixed as one month of rent ( by the latest local law). That means you'd better to prepare 4 months rent for the first time when you pay the rent. However, if you are not comfortable with this type of payments, you can always talk to the landlord or ask your agency to help you discuss it. Some landlords also can accept 2 months rent in advance but with double amount as the deoposit. By the way, normally you have to pay at least the deposit when you sign the contract and pay the other 3 months rent when you get the Key and plan to move in.

How to Pay the rent and what you should attend to.: When you pay rent, especially by cash, (if you pay by bank- transfer, there would be a record by the bank.) you should always ask for an invoice or a receipt from the landlord. It can be printed or hand written. Anyway, you much pay attention to keep it till to the contract finished. (By the way, if you ask for an invoice, some owner will request 5% rent more from you, since they have to pay the same amount as a renting tax.)

About the deposit.: As we mentioned in Q3, the amount is fixed as one month rent and will be kept by the owner as a property deposit. When your contract finished, it would be returnt to you if the property is well enough ( natural damagement will be neglected). But if you finished the contract far before the expery day, it won't be returnt but as a compasition left to the owner.

Why keep contacting with the owner and What he/she can help you: Be close with the landlord. He or she is there to help. Landlord can help you pay water, electricity and gas bills for the first few months. In fact, you can pay your bills online or at convenient stores. Do remember to pay the bills before the dead line, otherwise, there would be a penalty for the delay.

About the registration in the local police station.: After you sign your apartment, you have three days (in 72 hours) to report to the local police station and state your new address. When you do that, beside your passport and copy, you much take your landlord's ID copy and ownship certification of the apartment. So don't forget to ask the landlord for them when you sign the lease contact.

About the service charge.: When your agent successfully helps you to sign an apt, you need to pay the service charge to his/her company. Some guests misunderstand that only one side ( the owner) has to pay service charge. In fact, by the local rule, the both side must pay it and the charge is fixed as 35% of month rent for the local people. For the foreigners, there will be another part to be request as a foreigner service charge, it's up to what kind of services you've gotten. Such as translating, helping your regestration in the police station, etc..

Could I contact my agent later when I move in?: It's up to what kind of service you request. Some only request an apaprtment, well some even ask for the whole periold when he/she lives there. But, of course, your ask more you will pay more. But anyway, keep friendship is very important, as Chinese say, one more friend, one more way. Most are kind and willing to help you more.

What's Homestay?: Homestay as a short-stay accommodation option is very popular now among people studying, traveling and working abroad. In China, it is called 'Min Su', meaning 'living in the family of local residents'. For the host family, you can receive such foreigners as overseas students, travelers, businessmen and so on with spare rooms. For the guest, you can live with the homestay family while traveling, and discover a new culture with its habits. You would be possibly provided with a single bedroom and meals during a short stay with the family.

Why homestay?: - For the guest, 1. It helps you get used to the new environment quickly with assistance from the host family so that you could easily get rid of dullness and loneliness living the family everyday life; 2. It provides wide opportunities for you to learn languages (e.g., Mandarin or Shanghai dialect) and culture here (traditional Chinese food…); 3. It helps you save living and traveling cost. - For host family, 1. It offers you a good chance to make friends with foreign guests and experience a new kind of living style; 2. It brings into the family some activity, it allows you to share with a host what you like from your country; 3. It helps to improve foreign language skills of you and your family members; 4. It brings economic benefits to you with those spare rooms for rent.

What's homestayglobal.com (HSG)?: Homestayglobal.com is the first worldwide DIY (do it yourself) web-service for homestay and its related activities. With Internet technology, it transits from one which relies on homestay agency into a self–operating system with full accessibility to information. Thus, people involved could find their ideal homestay partners and hold such related activities, as language learning and tutoring, translating and interpreting, guide and airport pickup and etc. Regarding the demands of guests as their first priority and with the purpose of providing the largest amount of guests with the greatest pleasure, HSG holds various kinds of activities such as cultural lectures, linguistic exchanges, salons for friends making, getting-together and trips. No doubt, it plays a great important role in building up a life stage for the majority of people who want to learn language and culture make friends and expand business.

Why homestayglobal.com (HSG)?: It offers a DIY service platform where one can release information freely, manage communication voluntarily. Thus users can not only share information transparently, hold tightly by the homestay agency but also enjoy the unrestricted communication among themselves. They may take part in other activities designed by HSG to meet their personal needs such as language and culture learning, friends making, job seeking and etc. HSG starts form Shanghai and will soon extend worldwide. It welcomes cooperation from all organizations and communities. HSG, with its specific advantage, would doubtless set an example for other insiders.

What is "free self-service"?: The registered user of HSG can release information and browse the information for lodging within their rights. They can contact those they are interested in by a booking system or releasing a message until they find a suitable host family or guest. The online registration is free of charge.

What is "Free post"?: Every registered user of HSG will have a self-service including data and function management, and a presentation window, where one can fill in, delete and edit all sorts of the related information at any moment. (One can also upload your shot on presentation window.) posting and answering announcements is also free of charge.

What will the "HSG-Service" provide?: For the registered users who have some difficulties in the usage of Internet, foreign language communication and necessary knowledge of law, or those who have no time dealing with the homestay arrangement, HSG will provide registration assistance, information releasing, language translation, law counsel, and recommendation of agencies with good credit to meet different demands of users.

Do I need to pay a service fee for a successful reception or accommodation via HSG?: All users who attain a reception, an accommodation or some related service via HSG do not need to pay any intermediary service fee.

Whether can HSG ensure the authenticity of all released information?: In spite of its every effort to attain the authenticity, accuracy and timeliness, HSG is not responsible for them.