To get to the point, a school that offers share accommodation is lousy, cheap, stingy, whatever. An apartment must be free, and I mean TOTALLY FREE, no utilities bills or charges for internet connection. If someone offers you shared accommodation where you also must pay for some of the utility bill, then tell em to go stick their offer where the sun don't shine!

Well said.

As far as these rubbishy employers are concerned and in an ideal world they'd like to treat us in the same shabby way they treat there own people, or in the case of this outfit, Westerners themselves have their snouts in the trough. I don't expect to arrive at a new school in China and they haven't told me any lies at all, they like telling untruths by omission or otherwise. I myself have in the past even worked illegally on an F visa (not at the moment although in some respects I would have preferred not to have lost my family visa when it was cancelled to get residents' permit etceteras a year ago) and am prepared to take a risk and play along a bit. Also if they want to fiddle the tax man I don't regard it as my business. However, a decent flat of your own and to be treated with respect is a minimum requirement. As you said "If someone offers you shared accommodation where you must pay for some of the utility bill, tell em to stick their offer where the sun don't shine!" If they cram teachers in together to save money it's a good indication that they will give you grief in other ways.

I expect this company to come back on us saying, you can rent your own flat if you want. I'm sure you can but they won't pay the lump sum up front =three months rent in advance, another month as deposit, heating money for next winter even though that's yonks away, etceteras. No they will just give you something like 1000 a month towards your rent of 2500. In addition they'll be asked by your landlord to extract money from your salary should any of the ancient fixtures break down.

No need to accept a job in China which does not provide "free" self-contained flat. It may well be that the school has to rent these flats from landlords but as long as you have nothing to do with that at all by way of your signature on any agreement or any money whatsoever paid by you, that's okay.