Chapter 3. Rental Housing Service Business
Section 1. Registration
Article 19
Rental housing service businesses shall apply to the competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities) for permits and complete corporation registration within three months of acquiring the permit; otherwise, the competent authority will revoke the permit.
Rental housing service businesses cannot start operation before: depositing a guarantee bond of operation within six months of completing corporation registration, employing rental housing managers, joining the local trade association where the business has registered, filing relevant proof and documents to the competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities) to register as rental housing service businesses, and receiving the registration certificate. The competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities) shall revoke the permits if registration is not completed by the prescribed time, and notify the competent authorities of corporation registration to remove the business from the registry.
In the case where a rental housing service business has set up a separate business branch, operation cannot begin before depositing a guarantee bond of operation, employing rental housing managers, filing relevant proof and documents to the competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities) to register the branch, and receiving the registration certificate.
The amount of guarantee bond of operation referred to in the first two Paragraphs shall be calculated based on the number of branches and the operation scale.
If rental housing service businesses and their branches fail to commence business operation within six months of receiving permits or have discontinued their operation for over six months, the competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities) shall remove them from the registry and revoke their registration certificates, unless the rental housing service businesses and their branches have filed for discontinuity registration pursuant to legal procedures.
If rental housing service businesses and all of their branches have their registration certificates revoked and have been removed from the registry, the competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities) shall revoke their permits and notify the competent authorities responsible for corporation registration to remove the business from the registry.
RHMB and RHSB should jointly, but not separately, form trade associations.
Article 20
A person having any of the following situations may not serve as a person responsible for running a rental housing service business. If he has assumed such a post, the competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities) shall order the rental housing service business to rectify matters within the specified period. If it fails to rectify matters by the deadline, the competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities) shall remove it from the registry, revoke its permit, and notify the competent authorities of corporation registration to remove the business from the registry.
1. Having been adjudicated bankrupt, and having not been reinstated to his rights and privileges.
2. Having been dishonored for unlawful use of negotiable instruments, and the term of such sanction has not expired yet.
3. A court has initiated a debt clearance procedure pursuant to the Consumer Debt Clearance Act and has not reinstated the person in question.
4. Having no or limited legal capacity to make any juristic act, or being currently subject to guardianship or assistantship.
5. Having committed the following crimes: fraud, breach of trust, misappropriation, abrupt taking, robbery, extortion or kidnapping for ransom, Article 173, Article 174, Article 176, Article 178, Article 179, Article 226-1, Article 271 to 276, Article 332, Article 334, Article 348 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of China, Article 2 of the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act, Article 23 to Article 27 of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act, Article 32 to 37 of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act, Paragraph 1 of Article 3, Article 6, Article 9 of the Organized Crime Prevention Act, Article 7, Article 8 , Article 14, or Article 15 of the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act; where such persons committing the crimes have been sentenced to one-year or longer imprisonment; and such persons have not fully served their time or it has been less than 3 years since such persons fully served their time or were pardoned. This Sub-Paragraph does not apply to those who are sentenced to probation.
6. Less than one year has passed since permits to run rental housing service businesses were revoked, unless the permit was revoked pursuant to Paragraph 6 of Article 19.
Article 21
Rental housing service businesses that make any change of matters that they should get permits for shall apply to the competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities) for revised permits within thirty days of making the change. Relevant documents of proof must be submitted together with such application.
When information contained in the registry is outdated, rental housing service businesses or their branches shall apply to the competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities) for updating registration within thirty days of informational change. Relevant documents of proof must be submitted together. Changes to employed rental housing managers should be processed pursuant to Paragraph 3.
Rental housing service businesses or their branches shall report changes in identities of employed rental housing managers to the competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities) within thirty days of the changes. Relevant documents of proof must be submitted together.
Article 22
If the guarantee bond of operation that the rental housing service business should pay exceeds a certain amount of money, a letter of guarantee provided by a financial institution may guarantee this excess.
The guarantee bond of operation referred to in Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 19 shall be deposited in a special guarantee bond account opened in a financial institution named by the National Joint Trade Association of Rental Housing Service Business of the R.O.C. (hereinafter referred to as the National Joint Association), and a management committee shall be in charge of the account; the interest generated by the bond shall be earmarked toward developing a sound rental housing service management system.
Representatives from the rental housing service businesses in the management committee referred to in the previous Paragraph shall not fill more than two-fifths of the seats on the committee. The competent authority in the central government shall specify rules regarding the organization of the management committee and the management of the guarantee bond of operation.
The guarantee bond of operation shall be spent under no circumstances but those referred to in Paragraph 4 of Article 31.
If the guarantee bond a rental housing service business pays is below the amount specified by Paragraph 3 of Article 24, the National Joint Association shall demand that the rental housing service business make up the payment within a month. The National Joint Association shall inform the competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities) of any non-compliance and the latter may impose civil fines pursuant to Sub-Paragraph 3 of Paragraph 1 of Article 37.
Article 23
The guarantee bond is a separate patrimony of rental housing service businesses and their employees. Except in circumstances referred to in Paragraph 4 of Article 31, the guarantee bond shall not be transferred, held in custody, set off, or used as collateral.
Ownership of the guarantee bond shall be transferred when rental housing service businesses merge or change organizational form.
Article 24
If one of the following conditions holds, and no victims demand vicarious compensation pursuant to Paragraph 4 of Article 31, rental housing service businesses may request in writing that the National Joint Association return the deposited guarantee bond starting one year (but no later than three years) after the following condition materializes. Interests accrued on the guarantee bond are excluded from the return amount.
1. Corporate dissolution.
2. Exit from rental housing service business after amending the corporate registration.
3. Permits revoked by the competent authorities in municipalities or counties (cities).
4. Removal from corporation registry by the competent company registration authority.
Rental housing service businesses that close branches or downsize, such that their deposited guarantee bond exceeds the prescribed amount, may demand return of the overpaid guarantee bond amount pursuant to the timeline and procedure prescribed in the previous Paragraph, if no victims demand vicarious compensation pursuant to Paragraph 4 of Article 31.
The competent authority in the central government shall stipulate detailed regulations regarding the procedure for depositing the guarantee bond (referred to in Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 19), the amount of the guarantee bond (referred to in Paragraph 4 of Article 19), and ways to provide a letter of guarantee or return the guarantee bond referred to in the previous two Paragraphs.
Article 25
Rental housing service businesses shall employ qualified rental housing managers to run RHMB and RHSB tasks.
Rental housing service businesses shall have at least one full-time rental housing manager. Each branch shall have at least one full-time rental housing manager.
A full-time rental housing manager should not be employed by two or more rental housing service businesses at the same time.