Can I limit electricity if I default on property fees?

Arrears of property fees cannot be limited by electricity, and property service providers cannot stop power supply, water supply, heat supply and gas supply to urge the payment of property fees. The right holders who have the right to stop water supply and power supply are water supply companies and power supply companies rather than property service enterprises. According to the provisions of the second and third paragraphs of Article 944 of the General Principles of the Civil Law, 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 time limit; 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.

Will default on property fees result in liquidated damages?

Whether defaulting on property fees will result in liquidated damages mainly depends on whether there is an agreement in the property management entrustment contract signed between the owners (or owners' committee) and the property management company.

Whether liquidated damages and related calculation methods are agreed in the property service contract is a prerequisite for the property company to claim liquidated damages. If there is no prior agreement, the court will reject the property company's request for liquidated damages. If agreed in advance, the following situations shall be treated differently:

1. If the owner fails to raise the defense of breach of contract of the property management company, or the defense reason raised is obviously untenable, the court considers that the owner has delayed the performance of the payment obligation without justifiable reasons. If both parties have an agreement on liquidated damages, the court will order the owner to pay the liquidated damages;

2. If the court finds that the service of the property management company has obvious defects, even if the degree of such defects is not enough for the owner to refuse to pay all the property fees, the court tends to first find that the property management company is in breach of contract. If the owner refuses to pay the property fees, he will exercise the right of defense first or at the same time, and will reject the claim for liquidated damages in whole or in part.

3. If the property company has slight defects in performance, but the overall service quality is good, it is obviously unreasonable for the owner to refuse to pay the property fee on the grounds of minor fault, which cannot constitute a defense of performance, and the court should also support the property company's request for liquidated damages.