Before signing a rental in China, check ownership documents and mortgages; transfer all payments with a note stating their purpose

Free. Take your ID to the property registry; a check takes about half an hour. The difficult part is asking the landlord face to face for the ownership certificate.

Before signing a lease in China, the landlord must show ID and the property ownership certificate. Without a certificate, they must produce other evidence of the right to let the property. They must also cooperate with your checks of property information; administrative regulations impose this duty. Even before signing, you can take your ID to the city or county property registry where the home is located to check basic property details, co-ownership, registered mortgages or rights of residence, and seizures. After signing, the lease allows you to check registration results. This matters because the rule that a sale does not end a lease has two exceptions. If the property was mortgaged to a bank before being let and is later auctioned to repay debt, you cannot demand that the new owner honor the original lease. The same applies if a court seized it before it was let. When a lease obstructs an earlier mortgage, the court removes the lease before auctioning the home. Conversely, if it was let to you and you moved in before a later mortgage, that mortgage does not affect the lease. If seizure or an ownership dispute prevents you from using the home, you may terminate the lease. If another party claims rights that prevent your use, you may ask to reduce or suspend rent. Paying everything by transfer with a note such as ‘[month] rent for [address]’ is the author's experience: in a dispute it proves payment and its purpose.

国务院 (2025). 住房租赁条例（国令第 812 号，2025 年 9 月 15 日施行）（第九条第一项：「向承租人出示身份证明材料、拟出租住房的不动产权属证书或者其他证明其具有合法出租权利的材料，并配合承租人依法查询、核实拟出租住房有关信息」）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202507/content_7032956.htm；自然资源部 (2024 修正). 不动产登记资料查询暂行办法（第八、十九、二十、二十一条）. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/2024/issue_11506/202408/content_6966482.html；自然资源部 (2025). 关于修改《不动产登记资料查询暂行办法》的决定（自然资源部令第 18 号，第二十一条第三项改为「不动产是否存在抵押权登记、预告登记、异议登记或者居住权登记等情形」）. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/2026/issue_12546/202602/content_7057456.html；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第四百零五、七百二十三、七百二十四、七百二十五条）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml；最高人民法院 (2020). 关于修改《最高人民法院关于在民事审判工作中适用〈中华人民共和国工会法〉若干问题的解释》等二十七件民事类司法解释的决定（法释〔2020〕17 号，第二十一项第 6 点修改城镇房屋租赁合同解释原第二十条，条文顺序调整后为第十四条：「（一）房屋在出租前已设立抵押权，因抵押权人实现抵押权发生所有权变动的；（二）房屋在出租前已被人民法院依法查封的」）. https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/282621.html；最高人民法院 (2004). 关于人民法院民事执行中拍卖、变卖财产的规定（法释〔2004〕16 号，第三十一条第二款；法释〔2020〕21 号删去第五至七条后为第二十八条第二款）. https://www.court.gov.cn/shenpan/xiangqing/713.html；最高人民法院 (2020). 关于修改《最高人民法院关于人民法院扣押铁路运输货物若干问题的规定》等十八件执行类司法解释的决定（法释〔2020〕21 号）. https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/282661.html；证据留存与转账备注同理见第 8 节关于彩礼和借条的两条

The information available before signing does not include the owner's identity. Match the name on the ownership certificate against the landlord's ID in person. Have the landlord attend signing; if they cannot, obtain written authorization. A sublessor needs the original landlord's written consent. If the landlord disputes your rights to terminate or reduce rent, you must sue. Ordinary first-instance proceedings must be concluded within 6 months under the rules, with extensions permitted, and you usually pay your own lawyer. No regulation directly requires transfer-purpose notes; that is the author's experience. The same pre-contract checks are available when buying a second-hand home; afterwards, obtain advance-notice registration. See Item 14.