Alternatives to 591: English Rental Websites and Facebook Groups in Taipei, Compared

If you're looking for English rental websites in Taiwan that can replace 591, we'll save you some time: there isn't one. We checked the usual English options in October 2026. Craigslist's Taiwan housing section had around sixteen listings, almost all high-end family homes posted by one agency. Tealit, the long-running English classifieds site, had a single room-share ad in its apartments section. Meanwhile 591 carries thousands of Taipei listings at any moment, in Chinese.

So the real question isn't "which English site," it's which mix of tools fits what you're renting. Our recommendation: use 591 for whole apartments and studios, Facebook groups for rooms, sublets and lease takeovers, and the big agency sites only if you want a managed, higher-end unit. Skip the English classifieds unless you're a family with a large housing budget. Below is how each option compares and when we'd use it.

Would rather not juggle 591 and ten Facebook groups in Chinese? TRA searches them for you, contacts landlords in Chinese and views every place with you in person. See how it works.

Taipei rental sites compared at a glance

• Option: 591 (rent.591.com.tw) | Language: Chinese | What's on it: The bulk of the market: studios, whole apartments, rooms | Fees: Owner listings none; agent listings usually half a month's rent | Scam risk: Medium | Our verdict: Main tool for anything beyond a room
• Option: Facebook groups | Language: English and Chinese | What's on it: Rooms, roommates, sublets, lease takeovers, some whole flats | Fees: Usually none | Scam risk: Highest | Our verdict: Best for rooms and short stays
• Option: Agency sites (Sinyi 信義, Yungching 永慶, HouseFun 好房網) | Language: Chinese | What's on it: Agent-managed units, often newer buildings | Fees: Agent fee | Scam risk: Low | Our verdict: Good if you want a managed building and accept the fee
• Option: Craigslist Taiwan | Language: English | What's on it: A handful of high-end homes, mostly one agency | Fees: Agent fee | Scam risk: Low to medium | Our verdict: Only for big family budgets
• Option: Tealit | Language: English | What's on it: Very few room-share ads | Fees: Varies | Scam risk: Medium | Our verdict: Not worth your time for now
• Option: Airbnb monthly stays | Language: English | What's on it: Furnished short stays | Fees: Platform fee, higher rent | Scam risk: Low | Our verdict: For your first 2 to 4 weeks only

591: still where the apartments are

Whatever you think of its interface, 591 is where Taiwanese landlords and agents list first, and often only. If you want a studio or a whole apartment in Taipei, you'll be choosing from 591 inventory whether you search it yourself or someone searches it for you.

The language barrier is real but smaller than it looks. Browser translation makes the filters and titles readable, and typing English into 591's search box surfaces listings from agents who handle foreign tenants. We walk through all of it, including the Chinese filter words and a message template for landlords, in our guide to using 591 in English.

Where 591 gets hard is contact. Owners answer phone calls in Chinese, some turn down foreigners, and the useful fine print sits in long Chinese descriptions. That's the part the alternatives below don't solve either.

Facebook groups: best for rooms, roommates and takeovers

Most English-language renting in Taipei that doesn't happen on 591 happens in Facebook groups. Search Facebook for terms like "Taipei apartments for rent", "Taipei rooms for rent" or "Taipei expats housing" and you'll find several active groups, along with Chinese-language rental groups (search 台北租屋) that are larger and busier.

We also run our own group, Taiwan Rental Assistance, for foreigners looking for a home in Taiwan. Join it to ask questions about renting here and to reach us directly. The safety checklist below applies there too, as it does in any group.

What you'll find there that 591 doesn't have:

• Rooms in shared flats with foreign roommates, posted by the tenant rather than the landlord. If you want to live with other foreigners, this is the main channel. Our guide to roommates or a whole apartment helps you decide whether that's what you want.
• Lease takeovers. A foreigner leaving Taiwan mid-lease posts their apartment so someone can take over the contract, sometimes with furniture included. These can be great deals, but you need the landlord's written agreement to the takeover, not just the tenant's word.
• Short sublets of one to six months. Before you take one, read our guide to subletting and short-term renting; in many leases subletting needs the owner's consent.

The trade-off is safety. Facebook groups have no verification at all. The most common pattern we hear about is a fake post using photos copied from a real listing, followed by a request for a deposit "to hold the room" because the poster is "out of the country". The rule is the same as everywhere: never pay before you've viewed the room in person and met someone who can prove they control it. Our guide to common rental scams targeting foreigners in Taipei shows what these look like. If you've already sent money, call Taiwan's 165 anti-fraud hotline.

A quick checklist we'd run on any Facebook rental post before replying:

1. Check the poster's profile. A brand-new account, no friends in Taiwan and no other activity is a reason to be careful.

2. Reverse-search the photos. If the same photos appear on a 591 listing under a different name or price, the post is copied.

3. Ask for a viewing time in the first message. A real tenant or owner offers one. A scammer explains why they can't.

4. Confirm who the landlord is. For a room or a takeover, ask whether the owner knows and agrees, and get the owner's contact before you pay.

5. Pay only at signing, with a receipt. Not a "holding fee", not a "key deposit", not before you've seen the room.

None of this takes long, and it filters out almost every fake post we've seen described.

Agency sites: Sinyi, Yungching and HouseFun

Taiwan's big real estate brokerages run their own rental sites. Sinyi Realty's rental pages and Yungching's rental site list units their agents manage, and HouseFun is a listing portal similar to 591 with a smaller pool. All three are in Chinese.

The upside is that agency-managed units are usually in better-kept buildings and the agent handles viewings and paperwork. The downside is the fee: the tenant typically pays half a month's rent as commission, and the legal cap for both sides combined is 1.5 months. Our article on whether you need an agent to rent in Taipei explains how that fee works and whose side the agent is on. Many of the same units also appear on 591, so there's little reason to search these sites separately unless an agent there is already helping you.

Craigslist and Tealit: English, but nearly empty

Craigslist's Taiwan housing section still exists. When we looked in October 2026 it had roughly sixteen listings, nearly all large homes and family apartments posted under one agency's reference numbers, some of them near Tianmu's international schools. If you're relocating a family with a corporate housing budget, it's worth a glance. For a single newcomer looking for a studio, it isn't.

Tealit has been an English classifieds site for foreigners in Taiwan for many years, mainly for teaching jobs. Its apartments and roommates section had one active listing when we checked, a room share near NCCU in Muzha. It may pick up again, but right now it isn't a real rental channel.

Airbnb and serviced apartments: for the first weeks, not the year

Monthly stays on Airbnb and serviced apartments are easy to book in English from abroad, which is exactly why so many newcomers start there. They are the right tool for your first two to four weeks while you search in person, and the wrong tool for a one-year home: you pay a large premium for the convenience, and many short-stay units can't be used to register an ARC address. Our guide on where to stay your first two weeks in Taipei covers how to choose a base for the search.

Which one should you use? Our picks

• Single professional wanting a studio or one-bedroom: 591, filtered by MRT line and type, with the "English" keyword search as a starting point. Check prices against our Taipei rent guide by area.
• Student or anyone who wants roommates: Facebook groups first, 591's 雅房 (room with shared bathroom) and 分租套房 (room with own bathroom) categories second.
• Staying three to six months: Facebook sublets and lease takeovers, or 591 with the 可短期租賃 (short lease OK) filter ticked.
• Family with a relocation package: an agency, and Craigslist is worth a look. Read our guide to moving to Taipei with kids.
• Still abroad: browse everything to learn prices and areas, book a short stay, and do the real search once you land. Our guide to renting in Taipei from abroad explains why.

Whichever channel you use, the steps after you find a listing are the same: view it in person, check the contract terms, and never pay a deposit above two months' rent, which is the legal maximum under the Rental Housing Market Act.

When none of these work for you: TRA searches all of them in Chinese

The honest reason there's no good English rental site in Taipei is that the market doesn't need one. Landlords fill units through 591, agents and LINE, in Chinese. As a foreigner you can work around that, or you can bring someone who works inside it every day.

• We start with a consultation on your budget, workplace or campus, lease length and must-haves.
• We search 591, agency listings and our own contacts in Chinese, and screen out owners who won't take a foreign tenant or won't allow address registration.
• We view each unit with you in person and handle all landlord communication and negotiation in Chinese on the spot.
• We go through the contract clause by clause before you sign, then help finalize the deposit and signing.

Once the in-person search starts, finding the right place typically takes anywhere from 3 to 5 days up to about 1 to 2 weeks. You pay a deposit when we start and the balance once you've found your home; we quote individually. See how our service works or send us your dates and budget.

FAQ

Is there an English version of 591 or an English site like it?

No. 591 is Chinese only, and no English site has comparable inventory. The English options we checked in October 2026, Craigslist and Tealit, had only a handful of listings between them.

Are Facebook groups safe for renting in Taipei?

They're useful for rooms, sublets and lease takeovers, but they have no verification. Never send money before viewing the unit in person and confirming the person you're dealing with controls it.

Which rental site do most Taiwanese people use?

591 by a wide margin. Agency sites such as Sinyi, Yungching and HouseFun are also used, and many of their units appear on 591 too.

Is it worth paying an agent fee to rent in Taipei?

It can be if you want a managed building and someone to handle Chinese paperwork. The tenant's share is usually half a month's rent, and owner-direct listings on 591 carry no agent fee.

Can I take over a foreigner's lease from a Facebook post?

Yes, if the landlord agrees in writing and a new contract or a written transfer is signed. A handshake deal with the departing tenant alone leaves you without protection.

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