I am very unhappy with my apartment. I have a tenancy agreement that is signed by my husband's employer for two years with a one year break clause, with three months notice. I do not really understand this. Does this mean that I wait a full year from the start of the lease and then provide the three months notice?

Our block is owned by a fairly large management company, it is not individually owned and they are not flexible. I have VERY noisy neighbors upstairs and this is really impacting my quality of life. Our apartment is also too small for the 5 of us right now, as I did not understand how overstated square footage was in HK before I came here. I was only here for 2 days to find a place before we moved, with kids in tow and husband working... Our refrigerator is so full that it is not even keeping our food cold and our utility area is just plain hazardous. We really need more space. we were prepared to do with much less here and even sold our furniture off before we came.

I was unprepared to not have any common storage for items like bicycles and luggage and never gave it any thought before we moved.

Am I stuck here for another year or is there a way out? My kids are so crammed into their rooms and I am so tired of the fighting. I have even suggested giving up the master bedroom... I am not looking for a luxury townhouse, just a large utility area, some extra storage and another small bedroom for my oldest child. We are currengtly in Wanchai, but I will keep an open mind about any area that seems livable and friendly.

Anyone find themselves in a similar situation?

[carang]

yes, you are locked in for one year. after one year, then you can give 3 months notice. so, you are technically locked in for 15 months.

if you decide to break the lease agreement, then you forfeit your deposit (which is usually 2-3 months rental).

[jimbo]

Yup as per to what carang said.

As its paid for by your employer maybe they could have a bit more persuasive power to see if theres any way out for you as its clearly unsuitable for your needs.

You mentioned the fridge being packed as well, rather than do one massive shop each week for example could you make it two/three smaller ones as and when you need to restock.

Sounds like you need a townhouse out in the sticks if theres 5 of you as you won't find anything your size in hk island side thats really suitable unless you pay big bucks but then if your employer is paying that then I guess its not an issue.

$ is a huge issue, which is why we are in an apartment that is too small. We have a housing allowance, but realize that most who live in our complex are couples with one baby and maybe another small child. The average is one child, two max for our size flat. Our kids are 3, 7 and 9, very active with playmates now and lots of schoolwork. We have a helper and just need more room. I think it is unfair to my helper to be cramped, as I want her to have room as well. We really need space for 6 people and the reality is that we have overseas guests as well, as my family can barely afford plane tickets, nevermind hotel rooms! The guests do not really factor into our apartment decisions.

The families that I have met through school seem to have housing budgets double and triple(some even more) what ours is. Rents seem to have gone up tremendously in the last year or so.
My kids love to swim and a playground seems almost essential here, as there are not an abundance of easily accessible public parks in the neighborhood like other places, so we would like facililities for kids as well as a bus stop for their school.

I do not want to be isolated. Ideally Sai Kung or Clearwater Bay sounds great, but I worry about the school commute to the island.
There is a 4 bed in my building available, but it is a 2nd floor unit, over 20k a month more than mine and has a TERRIBLE view, but a good floorplan, good size for us and a decent finish. Certainly not luxurious. It was built in the 80s.

Should I tough it out for a year or do you think rents will rise more?

[penguinsix]

If the company is huge, you may approach them about moving to a larger space in another building under their control. They might be willing to let you swap places if they have another building that is open.

[tsuiwah]

1. rents are going up further for high-end and luxury-type properties...10%-20% this year is a good estimate...When you say Wanchai you probably mean the area around Stubbs Road, so my estimate would apply.
2. the vast majority of folks in Hong Kong live in something smaller than what they really want or they dip into their personal savings (not always a good idea) and spend more on rent
3. if you can afford an extra HK$20K more per month, try asking the management company if you can shift your lease to the flat that just opened up on the 2/F or in another one of their buildings
4. if things are really as bad as you make out, ask your husband to beg for more housing allowance (or dip into your savings for the next year until you can get out of Hong Kong or tell your kids that they actually have it pretty good compared with the kids living in Hong Kong public housing)
5. there is going to be a trade-off between space, location and rent...you need to choose which are the most important

I think I just have to let it all go and live with it. Maybe put a 2nd refigerator in our dining room. Can they plug into a standard outlet? we are going to Vietnam in 7 or 8 weeks with the kids, so they will have some more perspective. they know they are richer than the vast majority of people in the world, even though they live in a smaller flat than most at school. HK is just not the cultural experience I thought it would be, but perhaps it is up to me to change that! It is more of a money centered culture than I had been prepared for- Never met so many bankers!

The kids will be fine...

[ChatChat]

Actually, aren't you locked for 12 months? Just give your three-month notice by the third last month of your first year lease, right? You know, this protection works both ways.

[tsuiwah]

Originally Posted by ChatChat

Actually, aren't you locked for 12 months? Just give your three-month notice by the third last month of your first year lease, right? You know, this protection works both ways.

No, the notice is usually after the first 12 months. Notice is more typically one or two months. I am surprised that it is three months in this case. There is no benefit to the tenant to agree to such a long notice period, although the landlord definitely benefits by being able to plan in advance for the vacancy. My advice to the tenant in this case is to NOT allow any prospective future tenants into your flat while you are still living there (unless you have agreed to this in the lease).

[bobinhk]

Originally Posted by tsuiwah

No, the notice is usually after the first 12 months. Notice is more typically one or two months. I am surprised that it is three months in this case. There is no benefit to the tenant to agree to such a long notice period, although the landlord definitely benefits by being able to plan in advance for the vacancy. My advice to the tenant in this case is to NOT allow any prospective future tenants into your flat while you are still living there (unless you have agreed to this in the lease).

Actually ChatChat was right and you can give notice 3 months before the end of the first year of tenancy. Basically you are only locked into the agreement for the first year and the rent can't be increased. Some larger corporate landlords do normally ask for 3 months' rental deposit.

Maybe you could work out some breaklease agreement with the landlord if you are able to find an alternative tenant for them, though the likelihood of you getting out of this without loosing a large amount of your deposit with a corporate landlord is unlikely.