My spouse was transferred here a few years ago as an expat and will convert soon to a local package. I am self-employed and dependent on his visa. I had some questions suppose owing to all this financial turmoil, he loses his job what happens to our rental? we are just about to sign a two year lease. Do rental contracts give you an out if you lose your job and have no choice but to leave Hong Kong within a month ? Do you lose your deposit? I am sure there must be other expats who have faced this. Any advice is welcome.
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1. Visa - your spouse will still need a work visa (until you qualify and then granted permanent residency). If his package becomes "local", it just means he's going to lose "expat" perks like free/huge housing allowance, school allowance, travel allowance, etc. As long as he's got a work visa, you can continue to be his "dependent".
2. Home Lease - it's your responsibility. The lease terms of contract will prevail even if you lose your job/s and need to leave HK. You can lose your deposit, and may even be required to pay the remaining months of the lease (or you may be able to help your landlord find a replacement tenant, etc.).
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Thanks .. I suspect I will not be the only one asking this question as banks cut bank even more according to this morning's news. It looks pretty grim out there but surely landlords can't expect to be paid the full lease term. That sound's mad.. Don't people get transferred all the time out of Hong Kong to Singapore etc. What happens then?
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mayo
13 yrs ago
I believe some if not a lot of companies pay out the lease if a housing allowance was provided. In our case our rent is paid in full by the company my husband works for and the lease is between the company and the landlord. Other repatriation provisions are also provided in his contract: such as the rent allowance would be continued x amount of time should his employer terminate the contract. Maybe have another look through your employment contract. Good Luck.
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Thanks Mayo we have a similair situation currently but its due to change soon and that's why its such a stressful time.:(. Maybe I am being overly negative and constantly thinking of the worst.
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If you leave before your lease is up, if a company lease your company is responsible for paying the landlord out. If the lease is signed by you then you are responsible. Yes, landlords would expect to be paid the full lease term in the majority of cases. The terms are specified in your lease which you agree to when you sign the lease, as far as I am aware there is no exceptions written into the lease about job loses sadly. You may want to reconsider signing a new lease if your job situation is insecure and consider either a short term lease which maybe possible in this market or serviced accommodation. I hope the job situation works out for you,
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If the pooh really hits the fan you could walk away from HK and leave your deposit. In most circumstances with a 2 month deposit and exit clauses after 12 months with 2 months notice you could technically be sued in the first 14 months for doing this - but if you aren't in the country I can't see this being a huge problem. Its a civil matter as opposed to criminal and unlikely to stop you being able to come back to HK
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DC2HK
13 yrs ago
You could try negotiating an exit clause into your rental agreement in the event your husband loses his job. Our landlord agreed to such an arrangement.
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Many thanks @DC2HK and Bangajusi
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