Rent-to-riches: Chinese landlords now face the brunt of flailing economy

Amid the strain wrought on China's services and manufacturing sectors by the spread of Covid-19 earlier this year, first to be laid off were migrant labourers, prime takers of small rental apartments

Not yet 30, Beijing office worker Li thought she was already on her way up China's private property ladder with two apartments bought and rented out. Then came the new coronavirus, jobless tenants leaving town and a rent falloff.

She's one of millions of Chinese landlords who have bought apartments to let in a highway to the country's growing middle class, many now facing a first slump in rental income.

Analysts say there's little prospect of widespread mortgage defaults for now, and property prices continue to grow, albeit more slowly. But the rental woes underline China's economic fragility, with the