Alipay, JD.com to reform China's house rental market

Chinese e-commerce giants, Alibaba and JD.com, have recently announced they will enter the house rental market, reports People's Daily.

Alibaba's mobile payment platform, Alipay, said it has launched more than 1 million apartments online, while JD.com declared it has opened an online channel for house rental, establishing cooperation with 82 developers and 35 service providers in over 20 cities across the country.

A rented apartment [File Photo: IC]

Consumers can look up house rental information on the online platforms and directly contact the house owner.

By conducting rental transactions without involving intermediary agencies, tenants are exempt from agency fees, which usually cost as much as one month of rent.

The rental term is also more flexible, allowing tenants to sign a short-term tenancy agreement and prepay less rent.

Leasees with good credit may not even have to pay a guarantee deposit.

This new mode of renting houses cuts the transaction costs and improves efficiency, which is very attractive to leasees, most of whom are young graduates.

By providing a non-agency form of house rental, the e-commerce platforms aim to make house rental transactions as simple as shopping online.

Meanwhile, related regulatory policies have been introduced by authorities in cities including Beijing, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Guangzhou.

The collaboration between internet giants and government authorities is expected to create a better house rental environment for consumers.