Hi everyone,

I need your advice or opinion on this ---

I relocated to Shanghai in August this year. I rented an apartment
through a well-known international real estate agent here in Shanghai.
I have been living without too much trouble until earlier this month.

In early October, I got a bill from the property management, it says
the landlord needs to pay the cable TV fee for Oct - Dec (about 500RMB).
I called the landlord to inform him of this, but he said I should pay. I
was shocked, since under the lease, I only need to pay the rent,
utility(water/gas/electricity), internet fee, and telephone bill.

He said under the lease, he does not have to pay for this either, since
there is no mention of cable TV fee in the lease at all. And in our case, he
said I should pay the fee, as many other rentees pay the cable TV fee
in Shanghai rental market (is this true??? When I was in Beijing my
landlord paid the cable TV fee, not me). And he said I need to contact
the real estate agent to solve this issue (why should I???).

Both sides are quite unhappy now. It is not about the money, I am
paying the much higher rents already. It just does not justify itself to ask
me to pay for things that are not my responsibility under the lease.

lets put it this way

if it does not say in the lease that the landlord is paying for cable tv/internet/satelite i think you have to pay for it if you want to use it
happened to me before
if those things are not specified in the lease the landlord will say "we did not talk about it i just install it for him but he must pay"
if it is not black and white you are stuck unless you can make a deal with him.

now many landlord charge extra money in the lease that will cover that but some do not and that have nothing to do with the fact you say you pay already a lot.

if on the lease it says you only have to pay for water/electricity/gaz/rent may be it is because nothing else was intstall at the time and they install the rest for you because you mentionned it to them then they gave you a favor by having it install for free for you?

you should deffinitly see the management or the real estate that deal with you and make sure of the terms of the lease and what can be done because it is a tricky thing. may be you can make a deal

hope for you it will be ok.

^^Agreed with the above comments. You should talk to the real estate agent to resolve this. If it is not written down then the likely hood is that user will have to pay for all the none essential. That said, if the agent or landlord showed you the cable TV prior to you signing the contract, it can be argue that the service is part of the rent.
Final words.....in CHINA, sometime you have to put your principal aside and choose your battle otherwise you will be too worn out to enjoy what's in front of you. Good Luck!

leave your principal at home.. along with your modesty and politeness...then you will enjoy your stay in China..

modesty and politeness are reserved only for family and close friend in China..

Agreed with the above comments.you should compromise.good luck

you must pay if you need the tv, if you dont then tell him/her you dont and s/he would have to pay coz the registration's under his/her name obviously... but then if you could afford high cost apt, what's 500 kuai is all about... principle?? I forgot where I dumped mine recently

If I am not wrong "cable tv" here means that normal chinese 50 plus channels?? it's standard that we must pay, not the landlord. After all s/he's not there to watch, no?

I rented an apartment through a well-known international real estate agent here in Shanghai.

Talk with your well-known international real estate agent, tell them whats happening, and ask for mediation.

I once heard: if someone says it's about principle and not money...... it's about money!

Since it's not clearly defined in the lease and you're the one who's living there to watch, then the best you can do is to make the landlord an offer: tell him to split the bill 50-50 and if you can live without the service, tell him if he doesn't agree, you'd tell the cable company to shut it off and he would have to pay more to get the service reinstalled for the next tenant or take a lower rent because of no TV.

If he's smart enough and can do his math, he'd agree to your deal. If you can't live without the boring Chinese TV programs, then suck it up and cough up the $.

I had a similar problem. I don't want to pay 'cause I never use it (I have a dish). I don't want to argue with a Chinese so I ask a friend (local) to handle it for me. I didn't pay a cent and the landlord cut the service.

A real estate agent is also a good option, they're great in arguments.

I pay my cable tv fee and I NEVER watch cable since I don't understand Chinese. Just too lazy to ask the landlord to cancel it.

I've asked our landlord to cancel the cable and landline, but he won't cause he says it'll be too difficult to hook back up...... if I ask for ANYTHING to be changed/fixed or otherwise, he starts yelling and saying that I don't understand china cause I'm a laowai and that that's the way we do things in Shanghai, etc........

bjandmegsabroad wrote:I've asked our landlord to cancel the cable and landline, but he won't cause he says it'll be too difficult to hook back up...... if I ask for ANYTHING to be changed/fixed or otherwise, he starts yelling and saying that I don't understand china cause I'm a laowai and that that's the way we do things in Shanghai, etc........

Move house. Your landlord sounds like a c*nt.

If you stop paying.. things start get getting done.

bjandmegsabroad wrote:... he starts yelling and saying that I don't understand china cause I'm a laowai and that that's the way we do things in Shanghai, etc........

That's what the hooker said when I refused to pay her for chatting to me for 10 minutes even though I didn't want her to, LOL!

Sorry to say but YOU should just pay and not let this little issue eat you up. Cable TV is non-essential and if its not covered under your contract then ultimately as a matter of principle, the landlord is right. YOU are the one using it so if you want it, pay up. If not, then cancel it. I cant see what this hubbub is all about. You CAn go after the real estate agency for letting this go by but ultimatley if you want the TV, you may just have to pay. (Splitting it may still be an option as everything here is negotiable...)

Seaweed wrote:I once heard: if someone says it's about principle and not money...... it's about money!

Since it's not clearly defined in the lease and you're the one who's living there to watch, then the best you can do is to make the landlord an offer: tell him to split the bill 50-50 and if you can live without the service, tell him if he doesn't agree, you'd tell the cable company to shut it off and he would have to pay more to get the service reinstalled for the next tenant or take a lower rent because of no TV.

If he's smart enough and can do his math, he'd agree to your deal. If you can't live without the boring Chinese TV programs, then suck it up and cough up the $.

If it's not in the lease and you'd like to keep the service, you should pay for it.

If you are going to play games as above suggests, be prepared that the Landlord can play them as well.

Choose your wars wisely.

You sound like a very petty person to not take responsibility for something so minor and cause all of this upset. If a matter like this poses such an incredible disruption in your life, be prepared for a tragic existence during your stay in China.

500rmb.

while principles may be there, is it really worth it?

not suggesting you take it up the ass, but why bother with the fight? at the end of the day, it is chump change.

Or half a month's pay for a Chinese laborer.

he's obviously not a chinese laborer...sounds more american actually...

Without wanting to hijack the thread...

not suggesting you take it up the ass, but

Is this sort of homophobic and offensive language really necessary?

Never had to pay this before in 3 or 4 different places that the bill came. Always gave to the landlord. It is, i believe, their responsibility. It's not cable tv as in the cable you get back home, it is basically CCTV etc.... and as such they are, i believed, required to pay this. Do you watch CCTV? If not, just tell them you are not paying it and they will have to pay the reconnection fee.

This is something you have to pay except if you agreed on something with the landlord.
500 RMB is not a big money? We don't know the guy's situation...

Apart from this I would advise you to inform your landlord that you don't want this service. If they can cut this thing now I doubt that you would have to be the full amount. If your landlord don't listen to you then don't pay. I'm sure he will take some actions...

Not sure if there are different cable services, but I only pay about 80rmb every once in a blue moon, usually someone from management who I bump into outside will remind me to pay it. As it's only 80rmb and I get on well with my landlord, I think nothing of paying it, even though I only watch it once a month or so.

operadave wrote:Without wanting to hijack the thread...

not suggesting you take it up the ass, but

Is this sort of homophobic and offensive language really necessary?

Homophobic language????? Ya know... it's an expression...jeez. This really is the anal retentive thread, isn't it??

Do you know that women too are in possession of an ass?

And some of them take it up the ass also.

So Magnolia was being gender neutral. It's your own personal psychosis that brought it to this low depth.

the cable TV fee for Oct - Dec (about 500RMB).

He just wanted to rip you off.
13rmb*3=39rmb

Got it?

jzzzzzzz wrote:

bjandmegsabroad wrote:I've asked our landlord to cancel the cable and landline, but he won't cause he says it'll be too difficult to hook back up...... if I ask for ANYTHING to be changed/fixed or otherwise, he starts yelling and saying that I don't understand china cause I'm a laowai and that that's the way we do things in Shanghai, etc........

Move house. Your landlord sounds like a c*nt.

^Yes, he does, the ignoranamous!

Move, you can probably find a nicer cheaper apartment by now in a more conveniant location anyway!

Dear Shning,

I am a chinese and living in Shanghai.

Now i also rent the house and i should pay for the TV fee. But i

only pay for about RMB 200 per year. You pay for 500 for three months?

maybe you have better serive than I .

If you don't want the service, just ask them to cut the service. No

problem.

Hope that you have a good time in Shanghai and enjoy yourself.


Jo qiao

shning wrote:Hi everyone,

I need your advice or opinion on this ---

I relocated to Shanghai in August this year. I rented an apartment
through a well-known international real estate agent here in Shanghai.
I have been living without too much trouble until earlier this month.

In early October, I got a bill from the property management, it says
the landlord needs to pay the cable TV fee for Oct - Dec (about 500RMB).
I called the landlord to inform him of this, but he said I should pay. I
was shocked, since under the lease, I only need to pay the rent,
utility(water/gas/electricity), internet fee, and telephone bill.

He said under the lease, he does not have to pay for this either, since
there is no mention of cable TV fee in the lease at all. And in our case, he
said I should pay the fee, as many other rentees pay the cable TV fee
in Shanghai rental market (is this true??? When I was in Beijing my
landlord paid the cable TV fee, not me). And he said I need to contact
the real estate agent to solve this issue (why should I???).

Both sides are quite unhappy now. It is not about the money, I am
paying the much higher rents already. It just does not justify itself to ask
me to pay for things that are not my responsibility under the lease.

Snippets wrote:

operadave wrote:Without wanting to hijack the thread...

not suggesting you take it up the ass, but

Is this sort of homophobic and offensive language really necessary?

Homophobic language????? Ya know... it's an expression...jeez. This really is the anal retentive thread, isn't it??

Do you know that women too are in possession of an ass?

And some of them take it up the ass also.

So Magnolia was being gender neutral. It's your own personal psychosis that brought it to this low depth.

LMAO!

From my experience, the landlord usually pays for this. It's unfortunate that you are being made to pay for something that you can't use. Suggest to the landlord that you don't want it as you can't use it and see what happens. Most likely he will pick up the tab or at least half. Definitely ask your agent to work on this on your behalf. That's my two bobs!

Adrienne
http://www.shanghaiprops.com