Living for 4 months without a residence permit

My school in Guangzhou told me I did not need to apply for a residence permit to live at there school so I never got one. When I came to Beijing the dorm I used to live would not me register because I didn't have this very important residence permit, now that I haven't had it 4 months I could pay 10000 yuan as a fine. Has anyone had any experience with this and have some kind of guidance for a situation like this?