Can the liquidated damages for late delivery offset the property fee?

Property management fees and liquidated damages cannot be offset. Property management and developers selling houses are two legal relationships and different contract subjects. Legally speaking, "liquidated damages for delayed delivery" and "property management fee" cannot offset each other. Relevant documents stipulate that when collecting management fees, property management fees for many years shall not be collected in advance at one time. The behavior of developers to offset the "property management fee" for more than one year to two years with "liquidated damages for delayed delivery" is actually a disguised charge for more than one year. So this practice is illegal.

How do developers defend their rights when they delay delivery?

If the developer fails to deliver the house within the time limit, the purchaser can choose to safeguard his legitimate rights and interests by canceling the contract or asking the developer to pay liquidated damages or compensate for the losses.

1. The buyer may exercise the right to terminate the contract.

According to the regulations, if the seller delays the delivery of the house and fails to perform it within a reasonable period of three months after being urged, the buyer's request to terminate the contract shall be supported, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. Therefore, if the developer delays the delivery of the house, the purchaser can request to terminate the contract and return the house, but it must be handled in accordance with legal conditions and procedures. Therefore, when the developer delays the delivery of the house, no matter whether the buyer is really ready to terminate the contract, he should send a letter to remind the developer immediately after the delay, preferably by courier and other retained documents.

2. Property buyers can ask developers to pay liquidated damages or compensate for losses.

According to the law: "If a party fails to perform its contractual obligations or fails to perform its contractual obligations, it shall be liable for breach of contract such as continuing to perform, taking remedial measures or compensating for losses."

Regarding the amount of liquidated damages, the commercial housing sales contract does not stipulate the amount of liquidated damages or the calculation method of loss compensation, and the amount of liquidated damages or loss compensation can be determined with reference to the following standards: if the payment is overdue, it shall be calculated according to the total unpaid purchase price and with reference to the standard for financial institutions to charge interest on overdue loans stipulated by the People's Bank of China. Overdue delivery, in accordance with the relevant authorities announced or qualified real estate assessment agencies to assess the same lot of similar housing rent standards during the overdue delivery.

According to the law, if the parties demand a reduction on the grounds that the agreed liquidated damages are too high, they should reduce them appropriately on the basis that the liquidated damages exceed 30% of the losses caused; If the parties demand an increase on the grounds that the agreed liquidated damages are lower than the losses caused, the amount of liquidated damages shall be determined according to the losses caused by the breach of contract.

That is, in the event of such problems, property buyers should pay attention to the relevant provisions in the purchase contract on compensation for delayed delivery. If there is an agreement in the contract, compensation shall be made according to the agreement. If the agreed liquidated damages are lower than the losses caused, the parties may request the people's court or arbitration institution to increase them; If the agreed liquidated damages are excessively higher than the losses caused, the parties may request the people's court or arbitration institution to reduce them appropriately.