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Perspective | Is the property fee reduction policy applicable to villas during the vacancy period?

Published:

2024-12-23

In recent years, with the rapid development of the real estate market and the improvement of residents' living standards, property management services have become an indispensable part of urban life. In practice, some homeowners, especially those who have purchased properties but do not actually reside in them, have raised a controversial point: "If the house is not lived in and the property services are not enjoyed, the property management fees should be reduced or waived." Can this subjective intention receive legal support? This article will explore this issue in conjunction with specific cases. Case: Yantai Intermediate People's Court of Shandong Province (2024) Lu 06 Min Zhong 2662 Case Background: The community involved is a certain villa community. XX is the owner of a unit in the community, with a house area of 189.82 square meters, in a row villa layout. The community has not established a homeowners' committee. Signing and content of the commodity housing sales contract and property service contract: On June 23, 2018, XX, the owner of the villa community, signed a "Commodity Housing Sales Contract" with Yantai Zhongmou Real Estate Co., Ltd., agreeing that XX would purchase a property developed by Yantai Zhongmou Real Estate Co., Ltd. located at No. **, ** Road, Muping District, with a total price of 2,718,858 yuan. Among them, Article 14 (Seller's Commitment Regarding Normal Operation of Infrastructure and Public Supporting Buildings) states that the infrastructure and public facilities such as power supply, water supply, heating, gas, roads, drainage, greening, street lights, sanitation, and postal communications must be constructed according to planning requirements and handed over to relevant departments or units for subsequent maintenance and management. On December 23, 2020, both parties signed the "Owner's Receipt Confirmation Document," committing to have carefully read and complied with the "Preliminary Property Service Agreement" and the "Temporary Management Regulations." The fee standards and payment methods stipulated in the "Preliminary Property Service Agreement" are: property management fees for row houses are charged at 3.9 yuan per square meter per month; overdue payments incur a penalty calculated at a daily rate of 0.5%; except for the first year's property service fee, subsequent property service fees are settled semi-annually, with payment due by the 5th of the first month of each half-year. The service content stipulated in the property service contract includes: 1. Maintenance and management of common areas; 2. Maintenance and management of common facilities and their operation; 3. Environmental sanitation; 4. Security; 5. Traffic order and vehicle parking; 6. Fire safety. The "Temporary Management Regulations" stipulate that before handling the house delivery procedures, property buyers must obtain the "Owner's Card" from the construction unit, sign a preliminary property service fee collection agreement with the bank and construction unit, and prepay 12 months (not exceeding 12 months) of property service fees according to the fee standards stipulated in the preliminary property service contract. XX's semi-annual property service fee is 4,441.79 yuan (3.9 yuan × 189.82 square meters × 6 months), and XX owes property service fees from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023, totaling 17,767.15 yuan (3.9 yuan × 189.82 square meters × 24 months). Due to XX's failure to pay the property service fees as agreed, Yantai Branch of a certain property service group filed a lawsuit, requesting the court to order XX to pay the property management fees and penalty damages. Defendant XX's defense: 1. Property fees should be reduced or waived according to the regulations for vacant houses; 2. The property fees for the involved house should be reduced by no less than 20% as it does not meet the agreed standards; 3. The penalty is too high, and the calculation standard is unreasonable. Court's ruling viewpoint: Article 17 of the "Shandong Province Property Service Fee Management Measures" states, "For ordinary residential properties that have been vacant for more than six months after delivery, the preliminary property public service fees should be reduced; the procedures for handling vacancies and the specific reduction ratio shall be determined by the price authorities of the people's government at the municipal or county (city, district) level in conjunction with the property management authorities, but the fees charged shall not exceed 60%. For non-ordinary residential properties that have been vacant for more than six months after delivery, the charging standards for property public service fees shall be separately agreed upon by the property service enterprise and the owner or property user." According to the relevant provisions of the Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission regarding the definition of ordinary residential properties, ordinary residential properties refer to residences other than single-family, duplex, and row villas. Lawyer's analysis: The property fee reduction policy for vacant houses only applies to ordinary residential properties, and row villas do not fall under the category of ordinary residential properties, thus cannot enjoy the property fee reduction policy. Since the property fees for row villas are subject to market regulation prices, they are not within the scope of government price regulation. The collection standards for vacant property fees for non-ordinary residential properties should be negotiated or stipulated in the property service contract, and the court has no authority to rule on this, nor does it have the right to submit it to the price certification center of the Development and Reform Commission for adjudication.

Case: Yantai Intermediate People's Court, Shandong Province (2024)

Case No. Lu 06 Min Zhong 2662

Case Facts:

The community involved is a certain residential area. XX is the owner of a unit in the community, with a housing area of 189.82 square meters, in a row villa style. The community has not established an owners' committee.

The signing situation and content of the commodity housing sales contract and property service contract: On June 23, 2018, XX, the owner of the residential area, signed a "Commodity Housing Sales Contract" with Yantai Zhong某某 Real Estate Co., Ltd., agreeing that XX would purchase a property developed by Yantai Zhong某某 Real Estate Co., Ltd. located at **Road** No. **Building** No. **, with a total price of 2,718,858 yuan. Among them, Article 14 (Seller's Commitment Regarding Normal Operation of Infrastructure and Public Supporting Buildings) states: 3. Infrastructure and supporting public facilities such as power supply, water supply, heating, gas, roads, drainage, greening, street lights, sanitation, and postal communications shall be constructed in accordance with planning requirements and handed over to relevant departments or units for subsequent maintenance and management. On December 23, 2020, both parties signed the "Owner's Receipt Confirmation Document," promising to have carefully read and complied with the "Preliminary Property Service Agreement" and the "Temporary Management Regulations."Temporary Management RegulationsThe charging standards and payment methods stipulated in the "Preliminary Property Service Agreement" are: for row villas, property fees are charged at 3.9 yuan per square meter per month based on the building area; overdue payments are calculated at a penalty rate of 0.5% per day; except for the property service fee for the first year, subsequent property service fees are settled semi-annually, with payment due by the 5th of the first month of each half-year. The service content stipulated in the property service contract includes: 1. Maintenance and management of common areas of the house; 2. Maintenance and management of common facilities and their operation; 3. Environmental sanitation; 4. Security; 5. Traffic order and vehicle parking; 6. Fire safety. The "Temporary Management Regulations" stipulate that before handling the house delivery procedures, the property buyer should obtain the "Owner's Card" for the purchased house from the construction unit, sign a preliminary property service fee collection agreement with the bank and the construction unit, and prepay 12 months (not exceeding 12 months) of property service fees according to the fee standards stipulated in the preliminary property service contract.

XX should pay a property service fee of 4,441.79 yuan every six months (3.9 yuan × 189.82 square meters × 6 months), and XX owes a property service fee of 17,767.15 yuan (3.9 yuan × 189.82 square meters × 24 months) from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023.

Due to XX's failure to pay the property service fee as agreed, Yantai Branch of某某 Real Estate Group Property Service Co., Ltd. filed a lawsuit, requesting the court to order XX to pay the property management fee and penalty damages.

Defendant XX's defense reasons:

1. Property fees should be reduced or exempted according to the relevant regulations for vacant houses;

2. The property fees for the involved house that do not meet the agreed standards should be reduced by no less than 20%;

3. The penalty is too high, and the calculation standard is unreasonable.

Court's ruling viewpoint:

Article 17 of the "Shandong Province Property Service Fee Management Measures" stipulates that "for ordinary residential properties that have been vacant for more than six months after delivery, the preliminary property public service fee should be reduced; the procedures for handling vacancies and the specific reduction ratio shall be determined by the price authorities of the people's government at the municipal or county (city, district) level in conjunction with the property management authorities, but the fees charged shall not exceed 60%. For non-ordinary residential properties that have been vacant for more than six months after delivery, the charging standards for property public service fees shall be separately agreed upon by the property service enterprise and the owner or property user."

According to the relevant provisions of the Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission's reply on the definition standards for ordinary residential properties, ordinary residential properties refer to residences other than detached, semi-detached, and row villas.

Lawyer's analysis:The property fee reduction policy for vacant houses only applies to ordinary residential properties, and row villas do not belong to ordinary residential properties, thus cannot enjoy the property fee reduction policy. Because the property fees for row villas are implemented at amarket-adjusted price, which is not within the scope of government price regulation, the collection standards for vacant property fees for non-ordinary residential properties should be agreed upon by both parties or stipulated in the property service contract, and the court has no authority to rule on this, nor does it have the right to submit it to thePrice Certification Centerfor adjudication.

Key words:

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