Police authorities in Beijing have sparked heated debate by banning homeowners from renting their properties to people with "irregular lifestyles", including those who return home late at night.
　　Jin Yusong, the vice-general manager of letting agent Beijing Lianjia, said "We have thousands of clients and it is impossible to check what time they go home at night or what they do inside the house. This is ridiculous."
　　報道中說，北京公安部門禁止房主把房子租給生活不規(guī)律的人，其中包括回家晚的人。北京鏈家房屋中介公司的副總經(jīng)理說，鏈家擁有數(shù)以千計的客戶，他們不可能挨個查每個人什么時候回家，或是在家里做什么。
　　這里的“letting agent”指的就是房屋中介。“Letting”是“出租”的意思，“agent”是“代理商、經(jīng)紀人”。不過現(xiàn)在的房屋中介可不只代理出租的房屋，房屋買賣才是盈利的大頭。
　　此外，與“agent”經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)的還有“insurance agent”（保險經(jīng)紀人）、“estate agent”（房地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀人）。