Monthly payment of 0 deposit+maximum guarantee of 300,000, Shanghai Shell Rental announces new rental service standards

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on July 23, Shanghai Shell Province announced the full launch of the “0 Deposit Monthly Payment” service and the simultaneous launch of a service guarantee system of up to 300,000 yuan. This move means that institutionalized escrow companies are changing service standards in the leasing industry by “replacing deposits with credit and protecting risk hedging”.

Tang Jun, vice president of the Shanghai Real Estate Brokerage Industry Association and secretary general of the Rental Committee, pointed out that currently more than 90% of the housing in the market is provided by individual owners, and there are three major structural contradictions of “product mismatch, service mismatch, and operation mismatch” that have not been resolved for a long time. At the same time, the penetration rate of institutionalized long-term rental apartments in China is about 10%, far below the level of developed countries — this gap is not only a pain point for the industry, but also a room for growth in specialized forces.

Xiao Zhenyu, general manager of Shell (02423) Renting Shanghai, said at the press conference, “With the escalation of consumer demand, the core conflict in the rental market is shifting from 'whether you have a home' to 'can you live well'. In the process of renting, tenants are afraid that nothing will take care of them, and landlords are afraid that their assets will not be protected — maintenance is messy, deposit refunds are difficult, fees are not transparent, and accidents are unattended.”

“Based on this real feedback, Shanghai Shell has condensed 10 values of serving customers in the past 4 years of service.” Xiao Zhenyu said, “For landlords, from rent security to cost transparency, from rental guarantees to professional maintenance, the core is one thing — no need to worry about everyday rental issues after hosting; for tenants, from pre-maintenance to stable rental, from monthly payment and pressure reduction to butler service, it's also a matter — there is someone to take care of after moving in. With zero monthly payment and an upgrade of up to 300,000 guarantees — the former lowers the rental threshold, the latter maintains the safety bottom line.”

In the past year, the number of rental units managed by Shanghai Shell Province exceeded 106,000 units. The average number of rental days was 12.9 days, the average monthly sales volume reached 14,000 units, and the renewal rate for landlords increased to 82.91%. What kind of business logic is embedded in institutional hosting behind impressive business data? What is the deep link between iterative service value and growth in enterprise scale?

(Xiao Zhenyu, General Manager of Shell Rental Shanghai)

The first rent fell by 76%

In June 2026, the average rental transaction price in Shanghai was about 6,000 yuan/month. According to the traditional “deposit one payment of three” plus the agency fee, tenants had to pay 27,000 yuan in one lump sum before moving in. This is equivalent to the salary of a recent Shanghai graduate for more than 3 months.

Xiao Zhou, who graduated in 2021 and came to Shanghai, still remembers that when the agency said he would have to pay close to 20,000 to rent more than 4,000 houses, he was stunned for a long time. “When I first got a job where I had so much money, I ended up looking for what my family wanted.” Xiao Zhou's experience is not an exception. For new residents and young people in Shanghai, this “entry fee” is a real living threshold.

At this press conference, Shanghai Shell Smart Rent announced the full launch of the 0 deposit monthly payment service. If you have a credit score of 650 or more, you can get rid of the deposit through credit. According to research, the proportion of people in Shanghai who meet the requirements is over 80%, which can effectively lower the rental occupancy threshold. However, it is worth noting that no deposit is not equal to no penalty. If there is a default during the contract period, the tenant is still liable for breach of contract.

“A deposit is essentially a 'cost of distrust'.” Xiao Zhenyu said, “Under the traditional model, landlords take deposits to hedge against the risk of property damage, but for tenants, this money has been passive since it is handed over. Shell Smart Rent 0 Deposit Monthly Payment uses a credit system to replace deposit guarantees. It not only effectively relieves the financial pressure on tenants and lowers the rental threshold, but also relies on institutions to underwrite risks and minimize the 'cost of distrust' on both sides of the customer industry.”

Xiao Zhou calculated an account: “Before, I had to pay for three months every time I renewed my rent. When I spent a lot of money during the New Year holidays, I was under a lot of pressure. The monthly payment is now a steady stream of funds, so there's no need to worry about calculating when to pay rent in one go.”

(Shell Worry-Free renters maintenance service providers for routine maintenance)

Up to 20,000 per session, up to 300,000 during the hosting period

If the 0 monthly deposit is the solution to pressure and threshold issues, then the maximum 300,000 guarantee responds to uncertainty “after staying in.”

In January of this year, the faucet interface of Ms. Gu's house, the owner of Shangpu Community in Pudong New Area, burst, and water leaked downstairs. Tenant claims, neighbor accountability, and blurry definitions of responsibility — this is a typical scenario that has existed in the rental market for a long time. “The housekeeper came right after the repair was repaired. They said that this was covered by their service guarantee. Not only did they arrange for the tenants to stay outside for a while, but they also helped me and the downstairs repair the house.” Ms. Gu said.

“Ms. Gu's experience is a long-standing problem in the rental market. When accidents occur, the responsibilities between tenants and landlords are vague, and both parties often get into trouble.” Xiao Zhenyu explained, “Shell's worry-free rent-free service guarantee of up to 300,000 gives both the hospitality industry certainty in case of an accident.”

According to information, the high-cost service guarantee introduced by Shanghai Shell Provincial Rent this time covers both owners and tenants. For landlords, a maximum of 20,000 yuan of indoor personal security, 10,000 yuan of housing property protection, and 100,000 yuan of housing accident protection are provided; for tenants, personal security of up to 10,000 yuan and property protection of 5,000 yuan are provided at a single time. During the housing trusteeship period, a total of up to 300,000 yuan is guaranteed for both parties to the customer industry. The coverage covers accidents during the rental period, such as fires, gas explosions, glass bursts, water leaks, structural damage and collapse of the house due to non-human causes.

“I feel more confident.” Ms. Gu said, “If I rent out the house, if something happens to the tenant in the house, I definitely can't get involved. This is equivalent to helping me add a safety valve.”

(Shanghai Shell Worry-Free Rental Service Value and Up to 300,000 Guarantee)

Huang Hui, chief analyst of the rental industry at Shell Research Institute, shared the “Certainty of Rental Housing in the Era of Change Management” report at the press conference, and suggested that the value logic of the rental industry is expanding from “matching efficiency” to “deterministic supply” — what consumers are looking for is no longer just a bed, but multiple certainties such as rental period, cost, maintenance, and safety. The larger the enterprise, the finer the anchor point of service certainty focus — this is the core basis for judging whether the institutional model can actually work. This is also the opening question; there must be a positive correlation trend between service and scale.

The “Housing Rental Regulations” proposed on September 15, 2025 are the first specific administrative regulations in the field of housing rental in China; the “Report on the Work of the Government” of the same year also proposed the construction of a “safe, comfortable, green, and intelligent 'good house'”. Under the superposition of legalization, institutionalization, and quality, the rental market has been repeatedly stated as an inflection point of “whether it is good or not”.

When the definitive service concept penetrates into the core of the enterprise, the scale of the business will no longer be a proposition for those at the helm of the enterprise to think about — this press conference is a phased questionnaire handed over by Shell, and the score will still have to be tested over time.