Seven years ago, the property management company sued me for not paying the property fee seven years ago. How should I deal with it?

If the property company sued the owner for failing to pay the property fee seven years ago, the defendant may request the people's court to dismiss his claim on the grounds that the limitation of action has expired. The statute of limitations for property fees applies to the general statute of limitations, and the statute of limitations is 3 years.

Legal analysis

Limitation of action refers to the limitation system in which the obligee fails to exercise his rights within a certain period of time and loses the interests of his claim. The property company that the owner fails to pay the legal fees may bring a lawsuit, but it must be within the limitation of action. According to the relevant laws and regulations, if the owners' meeting selects owners or property service enterprises, it shall sign a written preliminary property service contract, stipulating property management, service quality, service fee, contract term, liability for breach of contract and other matters. Property service charges should follow the principles of reasonableness, openness, and adaptability between charges and service levels, and indicate the service items and charging standards. Owners can accept the services provided by the realty service enterprise according to the stipulations of the realty service contract, and the corresponding owners are obliged to pay the realty service fee on time. If the realty service enterprise fails to fulfill the stipulations of the realty service contract and causes damage to the owner, it shall bear corresponding legal responsibilities according to law. If the owner fails to pay the property fee, the property may not provide corresponding property services. If the owner still fails to pay after repeated collection, the property company may make a decision to sue the owner and ask him to pay the property fee and bear the late payment fee and liquidated damages for the property fee.

legal ground

People's Republic of China (PRC) Civil Code

Article 188 The limitation of action for requesting the people's court to protect civil rights shall be three years. Where there are other provisions in the law, those provisions shall prevail. The limitation period of action shall be counted from the date when the creditor knows or should know that the right is damaged and the debtor knows it. Where there are other provisions in the law, those provisions shall prevail. However, the people's court shall not protect the rights that have been damaged for more than 20 years. Under special circumstances, the people's court may decide to extend the time according to the application of the obligee.

Article 944 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. If the owner fails to pay the property fee within the time limit in violation of the agreement, the property service provider may urge him to pay it within a reasonable period of time; If the payment is not made within a reasonable period, the property service provider may bring a lawsuit or apply for arbitration. The property service provider shall not stop power supply, water supply, heat supply and gas supply to demand payment of property fees.