The house is vacant and no one lives in it. Can the property fee be discounted?

Property fee is always an unavoidable topic.

Then, under what circumstances can you refuse to pay the property fee?

Are some behaviors of the property really legal?

The Civil Code of People's Republic of China (PRC) has added the property service contract as one of the typical contracts, and stipulated all aspects of the property service contract with article 14 (articles 937 to 950), clarifying the rights and obligations of property service providers and owners.

Restricted by the ability level of property service practitioners and the high expectations of owners, disputes related to property services are increasing day by day. The speedy tribunal of Chongchuan Court specializes in hearing property contract disputes within its jurisdiction. By combing the frequent disputes in the field of property service contracts for many years, it is found that such cases mainly show the following characteristics: 1, the types of cases are relatively concentrated, and most of them are cases in which property companies sue owners for paying property fees; 2. The judgment result is relatively uniform. Judging from the closed cases, most of them are property companies winning the case; 3. The owner's attendance rate is low, and there are many cases that need to be announced because the defendant does not appear in court, but most of the cases in which the owner appears in court are settled by mediation.

In order to reduce the occurrence of contradictions and disputes from the source and respond to social concerns, the speedy adjudication court of Chongchuan Court sorted out the focus of disputes often involved in the trial of property disputes and summarized 18 typical problems about property service contract disputes, which are now published.

1. Without a separate property service contract, can the property company ask the owner for the property fee?

Of course. Article 939 of the Civil Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that the preliminary realty service contract concluded by the construction unit and the realty service provider according to law and the realty service contract concluded by the owners' committee and the realty service provider selected by the owners' congress according to law are legally binding on the owners. Property contract is a kind of collective contract, in essence, it is not necessary for the property company to sign with the owner alone, and the property company can ask the owner for the property fee according to the property contract signed with the construction unit or the owners' committee.

2. Can the owner refuse to pay the property fee on the grounds that he does not need the services provided by the property management company?

You can't. Article 9344 1 of People's Republic of China (PRC) Civil Code stipulates that the owner shall pay the property fee to the property service provider as agreed. If the property service provider has provided services in accordance with the agreement and relevant regulations, the owner shall not refuse to pay the property fee on the grounds that he has not accepted or does not need to accept the relevant property services. Therefore, after the property management company provides property services, the owners shall not refuse to pay property fees on the grounds of not accepting or not accepting property services.

3. Can I ask for a property fee discount if the purchased house is vacant?

The policy of property fee reduction and exemption for vacant houses has not been clearly stipulated in law. Some areas have issued relevant local laws and regulations, stipulating the payment standard of vacant housing property fees, which can be implemented with reference. The "Measures for the Administration of Property Service Charges in Jiangsu Province" and the "Regulations on the Administration of Residential Property in Nantong City" currently implemented in our city have not explicitly reduced or exempted the property fees of vacant houses. However, if the property contract clearly stipulates that the vacant house property fee can be paid at a discount, the owner can pay at the agreed discount. If not, the owner can't ask the property company to discount the property fee.

4. The residential property company quits before the service expires. What about the overcharged property fee?

You can ask the original property company to return it. Article 3 of the Supreme People's Court's Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Laws in the Trial of Property Service Disputes (adopted at the1823rd meeting of the the Supreme People's Court Judicial Committee on February 23, 2020) stipulates that after the termination of the rights and obligations of the property service contract, if the owner requests the property service provider to refund the property fee that has been received in advance but has not yet provided the property service, the people's court shall support it. Therefore, after the original property management company withdraws, the owner has the right to request the refund of the property fees that have been received in advance but have not yet provided the service period.

5. What are the general components of the property fee paid by the owner to the property company?

At present, the property fees charged by most property companies include residential property service fees and public energy consumption. The charging standard of residential property service fee is approved by the price department, and although the public energy consumption is generally fixed at the time of payment, the actual property contract will generally state "advance payment and actual sharing", that is, the fee may change every year, and the public energy consumption charged by some residential areas in Nantong is settled according to the actual situation every year. At the same time, what we usually call property fee discount does not include public energy consumption. Even if Article 283 of the Civil Code of People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that matters such as cost sharing and income distribution of buildings and their ancillary facilities are agreed, they shall be followed. If there is no agreement or the agreement is unclear, it shall be determined according to the proportion of the owner's exclusive area.

6. Does Nantong have any relevant regulations on property management?

On March 20th, 2020, the 29th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 15th National People's Congress of Nantong City passed the Regulations on Residential Property Management in Nantong City, which consists of seven chapters and sixty-three articles, and came into force on June 65438+ 10/day, 2020. This regulation is the first local regulation on property management in Nantong, which mainly stipulates the general rules, owners and main business organizations, early property management, property warranty funds and special housing maintenance funds, property service and supervision, legal responsibilities and so on. , aiming at standardizing residential property management activities, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of all parties in property management and creating a good living environment.