On July 1, 2000, the new Shanghai Municipal Regulations on Rental Housing will take effect. At the same time, the current Shanghai Municipal Regulations on the Management of Public Housing shall be annulled.

The old body of regulations being somewhat vague, these new Regulations will provide more comprehensive provisions that more adequately clarify previous grey areas. These would include conditions necessary to qualify for the rental of living space, steps for approval, rental contracts and registration of those contracts, the use and maintenance of rented housing, sub-letting, and changes and terminations of rentals. The Regulations will now also acknowledge the legality of "pre-renting", a practice that has been carried out for many years, but which has been un-addressed under the law.

The new Regulations will better streamline and clarify issues that frequently arose in the past. This will serve to bring order to the rental housing market and, although now only in effect in Shanghai, will also serve as a good reference model for the future legislation of national rental housing laws.