Online platform Danke Apartments was once a rising star in China’s
fast-growing flat rental market. Now financial difficulties and a spate
of evictions have prompted protests from its tenants and landlords.
Danke, whose Chinese name means eggshells, rents flats from landlords on
long-term leases. It then slices up and furnishes the units before
subletting them. The company, which listed on the New York Stock
Exchange in January, gained investor interest by positioning itself not
simply as a property management firm, but as a tech company that uses big
data and apps to offer a seamless user experience. …
