The property fee was not paid before the house was sold.

Legal analysis: 1. Pay the property fee after buying a second-hand house. If the owner of the previous house didn't pay the property fee he used before, it depends on the contract you signed with the former owner when buying and selling the house. Therefore, when we find that the property fee before buying has not been paid clearly, we first need to sign a house sales contract with the owner of the previous house.

2. If there is a clear agreement in the contract that the property fee before buying a house shall be borne by the current owner, then the current owner needs to clearly pay the unpaid property fee. However, if the requirements in the contract are borne by the original owner or there is no agreement in the contract, it is necessary to carefully check whether the original owner has left a property deposit for the current owner to pay the property fee before signing the house sales contract with the original owner. If there is a property deposit, but if the current owner did not leave a property deposit when signing the contract, the property fee before the signing of the house sales contract shall be borne by the original owner himself, and the property fee generated after the signing of the contract shall be borne by the current owner himself.

3. If the original owner maliciously defaults on the property fee, then first, you can find an intermediary first, because many second-hand houses are bought and sold through an intermediary now. If your house is bought and sold through an intermediary, you can ask the intermediary to pay the previous property fee, and then ask the intermediary to find the original owner to recover the property fee. But if it is not an intermediary, the current owners do not need to pay the previous property fees, and the property fees will be pursued by the original owners themselves. However, if the original owner and the current owner have other relevant legal conditions when signing the contract, they need to follow the contents of the contract.

Legal basis: Article 944 of General Principles of Civil Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that the owner has the obligation to pay the property fee, and 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 time limit, and 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.