In Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and other cities in China, age restrictions such as “no roommates over 40, no independent renting for those over 60” are spreading throughout the rental housing market. The limitations are causing challenges for older individuals seeking housing options.
“I can tell just by looking at the elderly that it won’t work out,” said Fu Ting, who worked as a real estate agent in Chengdu for over half a year, to Phoenix News. She mentioned that she had encountered over ten elderly individuals aged 60 and above seeking rental advice, but none of the deals were successful.
Based on Fu Ting’s observations, landlords are reluctant to rent to elderly individuals for several reasons. The top three concerns include: difficulties in communication due to the elderly having many affairs, worries about memory lapses leading to accidents such as leaving the stove on or forgetting to lock the door, and fears of being held accountable if the elderly tenant injures themselves on the property. However, the most significant fear for landlords is the potential scenario of an elderly person passing away in the rented property, turning a property worth millions into a stigmatized “haunted house.”
During interviews conducted by Phoenix News at dozens of real estate agencies in Beijing’s Haidian, Xicheng, and Chaoyang districts, approximately 30% of agents expressed that it is challenging to find housing for individuals above 60 or 65 years old, as landlords worry about accidents occurring on the property or the devaluation of the property value.
One agent shared a tragic incident where a tenant in his 70s suddenly passed away in the rented residence due to a heart attack. Consequently, a property originally rented for five to six thousand yuan per month could only be listed for slightly over two thousand yuan afterward. This incident led many landlords in the area to explicitly state their refusal to rent to anyone over 60 years old, some even inserting clauses into contracts specifying that the tenant would be responsible for any consequences if an accident occurred during the lease period, resulting in financial losses for the landlord.
“Chinese people are concerned about these matters; it’s unavoidable,” remarked Yan Jia, a resident of Jiangsu with a one-bedroom apartment. She shared her experience of facing difficulties in selling a well-located and furnished property at a reduced price because her grandfather passed away from cancer while residing there, deterring potential buyers.
Unfortunately, discrimination and taboos against older individuals sometimes come from their own children. According to Fu Ting, on a winter day last year, a middle-aged man pushed his wheelchair-bound elderly relative into her real estate agency. The elderly person, in his 80s and visibly frail, seemed eager to rent a property quickly, with money not being an issue. However, suspicions arose that the elderly individual was terminally ill, and his son did not want him to pass away in their own home, leading to the unsuccessful search for a rental property.
With China’s rapid aging population, challenges in finding rental accommodations for the elderly could become a widespread issue. Data from the Fifth National Survey of the elderly in urban and rural China in 2021 revealed that 29.9% of elderly individuals in China lacked property rights for suitable accommodations in their twilight years.
Professor Sun Juanjuan from the School of Demography and Health at Renmin University of China pointed out that one category of elderly individuals faces challenges due to mobility. The significant increase in elderly migratory populations since 2000, totaling 13.04 million individuals, accounting for 5.3% of the national migrant population, poses significant housing challenges in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, and Xi’an, where elderly migratory individuals make up 12.8% of the total migrant population.
Another category of elderly individuals struggles with aging housing that does not meet their long-term care needs. In Beijing, for instance, less than 25% of old residential buildings are equipped with elevators, leaving half of the elderly population in the city residing in non-elevator buildings, with over 70% living on mid to high floors. For these elderly residents, the daily task of navigating stairs poses a severe challenge.
Professor Sun emphasized that for these elderly individuals, renting a property is not about seeking luxurious living conditions but a basic necessity for survival in their everyday lives.