A Study About Real Estate Developers’ Liability For Overdue House Delivery

Under the background of the growth of real estate transaction volume,disputes over contracts for the sale and purchase of commercial housing have increased year by year.This article selects the hot event of the developer’s late delivery and discusses the developer’s liability for default of the late delivery.Through the search and analysis of the adjudication of overdue delivery cases in the judgment document network,the author found that the focus of dispute between the two parties in the overdue delivery cases mainly included the inconsistent understanding of the delivery standard,the inconsistent adjustment method of liquidated damages and the inconsistent starting point of the limitation period of liquidated damages,and the overdue delivery mostly occurred in the pre-sale process of commercial housing,and improper handling could easily cause a number of owners to class sue,which was not conducive to social stability.Therefore,it is necessary to explore the application of liability for breach of contract in disputes of late delivery.Subsequently,this paper uses the case analysis method,the value analysis method,and the literature analysis method to discuss the three statutory standards for the delivery of commercial housing in China,namely,through the comprehensive acceptance of completion,the acquisition of the "Completion Acceptance Filing Form" and the "Completion Acceptance Report",and analyzes the relationship between the agreed standards and statutory standards of the parties,and finally the author gives two suggestions that the statutory delivery standard should be the developer to obtain the "Completion Acceptance Filing Form" and the buyer’s reasonable refusal to accept the house should be regarded as overdue delivery.Regarding the adjustment of the liquidated damages for late delivery,the author uses the case analysis method,the value analysis method,and the normative analysis method to first analyze and think about the current adjudication path for the adjustment of the liquidated damages for overdue delivery in China,summarizes the different trial methods of the court in judging whether the liquidated damages for delayed delivery need to be adjusted and how to adjust them,analyzes the possible reasons for the inconsistencies in the adjustment method and amplitude of the liquidated damages for overdue delivery,and gives reasonable suggestions that punitive liquidated damages should not be adjusted.It also draws lessons from the trial guidelines of Jiangxi high court on the adjustment of liquidated damages for overdue delivery and the provisions of the regulations of Fujian Province on the protection of housing consumers’ rights and interests,it is suggested that provinces and cities should be allowed to issue a reasonable range of liquidated damages suitable for local needs according to the local economic level,and no longer adjust the agreed liquidated damages within this range.Regarding the inconsistencies in the starting point of the claim for liquidated damages for late delivery,the author first discussed the dispute over whether the claim is a whole claim or a continuous claim,concluded that it should be a holistic claim and gave a reason,and finally used the case analysis method to summarize and analyze the three starting points of the statute of limitations for late delivery of liquidated damages in judicial practice,and after comparison,the date of actual delivery should be taken as the starting point of the limitation period for overdue delivery of liquidated damages.