How to define the starting time of property service charge

The focus of the dispute between the two sides focuses on Article 20 of the Measures for Charging Property Services in Zhejiang Province: "Property service fees can be collected in advance, and the property management enterprise shall collect them from the owners and users according to the time limit stipulated in the property service contract signed with the owners' committee; If there is no agreement, the early harvest period shall not exceed 12 months. The property service fee is calculated from the month when the house is delivered and the buyer (owner) gets the key. "In this regard, some owners explained that the first phase of the property service fee should be one month after the owner got the key when he checked in at the management office, that is, one month after the actual check-in. The property company believes that the month after the construction unit notifies the house to be delivered for use shall prevail, that is, the month after the theoretical occupancy. As for when the initial property service fee should be calculated, laws and regulations all over the country are only principled provisions, that is, from the date of delivery of the house. As for how the construction unit performs the responsibility of housing delivery and how the owner performs the responsibility of repossession, it is stipulated in the contract between the two parties, and practices vary from place to place, which leads to disputes in the actual operation of property management. According to the Measures for Charging Property Services in Zhejiang Province, the property service fees incurred from the date of signing the previous property service contract to the date of property delivery shall be borne by the construction unit, and shall be borne by the owner the following month from the date of delivery of the house. From here, it is found that the delivery of the house and the owner's collection of keys are completed at the same time. In fact, the construction unit should do the same. But at present, the actual practice of the real estate industry is not the case. Instead, after the house is completed and delivered, the key storage formalities are handled with the property company, and the keys of the residential property buyers are kept by the management office, and the owners receive them when they check in at the management office. This has two advantages: first, the construction unit can reduce the workload in the process of handing over the house; Second, it is conducive to urging owners to take the initiative to check in at the management office to avoid the phenomenon of self-occupancy. The problem just happened in this link, which caused some owners not to get the keys from the management office immediately after the construction unit handled the handover procedures, but to wait until the actual occupancy. Because there is a time difference between the delivery notice and the actual delivery, the owner requires that this time is not included in the charging time. Then, if the construction unit directly issues keys to the owners when the house is delivered, can such problems be directly avoided? There is no doubt that the property service fee is calculated from the month when the owner receives the key. But the reality is that construction units and property management companies may refuse this practice, which is also inconsistent with the practice formed by the industry over the years. In this way, the construction unit will increase the performance of accompanying the owner to inspect the house, and the owner may not take the initiative to go to the management office to check in. Then, is there a better way to connect when the delivery of the house and the owner's collection of keys are not carried out at the same time? Personally, I think we can design from the following aspects to determine the starting time of the owner's early property service fee. First, the property company and the developer agreed in the "Early Property Service Contract". The preliminary property service contract is the basis and legal guarantee for the property management company to collect property service fees. According to the provisions of the Ministry of Construction's Measures for Bidding of Early Property Management, the construction unit shall complete the bidding of property management before obtaining the pre-sale permit of commercial housing. Therefore, the property company and the construction unit should make it clear in the Pre-Property Service Contract that the construction unit should perform the procedures of the house delivery responsibility as far as possible, and make it clear under what circumstances the construction unit is responsible for paying the property service fee, especially the handling method of the property service fee payment responsibility when there is a dispute over the delivery responsibility, so as to avoid asking the property company to bear the losses without reason, and also provide a basis for the property enterprise to determine the starting time of the property service fee. Two, remind both parties in the "purchase contract" and "early property management service agreement" clearly agreed. The preliminary property management service agreement is an agreement signed by the construction unit, the owner and the property management company, including the owner's commitment to pay the property service fee and the quality of the property service. Generally, it is drafted by the property management company on behalf of the construction unit, and signed by the owner when the owner handles the purchase formalities. Therefore, when drafting the "Pre-Property Management Service Agreement", the property company should make clear as far as possible the signs of the completion of the relevant housing delivery procedures, so as to avoid disputes with the owners on payment from the source. However, the signing time of the purchase contract is generally after the signing of the previous property service contract. Therefore, the property management company should remind the construction unit to further specify the delivery time of the house and the performance of the house expropriation responsibility in the house purchase contract, so as to keep the connection with the previous property service contract. Thirdly, it is suggested that the construction unit should improve the performance form of property delivery responsibility. Most of the ways for the construction unit to notify the owner to handle the property delivery procedures are clearly stipulated in the purchase contract, which can be roughly divided into three types: one is to notify the owner directly by telephone, which has the advantage of convenience and quickness, but the disadvantage is that it is impossible to retain evidence and distinguish responsibilities in case of disputes; The second is to notify the owner by registered mail. The advantage is that the receipt can be kept as evidence. The disadvantage is that there may be delivery disputes due to the change of the address of individual owners. Third, media announcements have the advantages of clear responsibilities and perfect procedures, which can avoid unnecessary disputes. It should be noted that this kind of behavior needs to be correctly guided and put on record by the relevant government departments in order to enhance the legitimacy and transparency of this behavior. Through comparison, it can be found that the most ideal way is to combine the first or second way with the third way, which can not only be quick and convenient, but also reflect the full performance of housing delivery responsibility. Therefore, before the house is about to be delivered, the property management company should assist the construction unit to perform the necessary procedures, notify it in the above way, and copy and file the announcement. Four, when necessary, be clear in the local normative documents. Considering the differences and convenience of local property management practices, local laws and regulations cannot make more clear and detailed operational provisions on such issues. Property companies and industry associations should sum up the situation in time, put forward solutions, and suggest that the property authorities regulate such problems, so that property companies can have evidence to follow in actual operation and provide practical methods for resolving disputes. Originally published in Modern Property Magazine, No.50, No.8, 2006.