[UPDATE: Mar 25, 3pm] Jack Balavadze, head of Ziroom's international department (also quoted in the article above), posted the following message in a Ziroom WeChat group.
Hope you are all well. After a long two month of epidemic period, it seems to be close to end in China. Though, I am so sorry for many overseas countries where the epidemic just broke out and is still on the rise. Hope we all will get back to normal life shortly.
I am Jack, head of International Department at ZIROOM. I asked my colleague to add me on to this group to personally share/hear your problems/needs/wants to help you out within the competency of the company through our best efforts.
Let me address some of the prevailing questions you may have:
1) Can ZIROOM rent an apartment to foreigners during the epidemic?
Absolutely yes! Though, regulations are stricter for foreigners at the moment since number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 are increasing overseas; for this reason - district governments/local community management teams want to fully make sure that every expat residing in the community has not traveled overseas recently, and, if she/he has, then they want to see the proof of 14 days quarantine passage certificate issued by the customs authority. (Stamped and signed)
For the time being, we have designated communities where we can help foreign customers to sign a contact and move in a community/apartment without any problem at all. However, we are still limited to some extent due to local communities’ policies. Also, we have some rooms available at ZIROOM JiangTai building which we own and manage outright.
2) Did your landlord ask you to move out of the apartment before your contract expires?
There are two things to do: A) Ask your landlord to explain to you the reason why you have to move out of the apartment. B) Call your Z-Organizer (agent) for help. There is no legal basis to move out of your room before the contract expires unless you have recently traveled overseas and do not hold a certificate of 14 days quarantine passage. As a last resort you may go to nearby hospital and get a quick body checkup to obtain health certificate which will reduce the reasons of moving out to zero [this is an official policy we can rely on at the moment]. In an extreme case, if the landlord still insists on a tenant to move out of the apartment then our Z-organizers will try to get you a new room/apartment within optimal time frame.
P.s Some landlords are prohibitively pressured by the local communities so they try to avoid additional problems and directly asking foreign tenants to move out of the apartment. Though, if the tenants meet the official policy requirements, there is no legal basis for landlords to push the tenants to that extent before the expiration date of the contract (unless the official policy changes).
3) What if I am overseas but my contact has not expired yet?
There is no problem to keep your contract going. There is no threat that anyone will move your stuff out of the apartment.