Zhongcheng Qingtai, real estate perspective: buyers to buy waist line layer, developers should bear the liability for compensation.

Many people may not know what is the waist line before buying a house, and even some customers do not know after buying a house. Usually, if the buyer does not ask, the sales staff will not take the initiative to inform the layer is the waistline layer, until the final check-in.

What is the waistline layer?

Waist line is not a legal concept, is a practice of architectural decoration, generally refers to the horizontal horizontal line on the building wall, on the outer wall is usually on the upper or lower edge of the window, mainly plays a decorative role. To put it bluntly, the waist line layer is a raised facade of a building every few floors. Such a design will make the whole floor more hierarchical and beautiful, mainly for decoration. Most buyers do not notice this problem when buying a house, and property consultants hardly actively mention the impact of the waist line.

What are the disadvantages of the waist line layer of the house?

First, one of the biggest disadvantages of the waistline layer is that indoor lighting will be affected, because there is a waistline protruding from the window and balcony, which has a certain blocking effect on the sun. In addition, the ventilation effect will also be affected.

Second, a part of the area protruding from the waistline layer does not actually increase the usable area of the home, but it really increases the area that needs to be cleaned. In case of windy rain and snow, some messy dirty things will fall on the waistline layer, which is very difficult to clean.

Third, there are certain security risks. Such balconies are actually very unsafe to a certain extent, which will cause some people to walk through the door.

Fourth, because the waist line is hung on the facade of the building, it will be easy to accumulate water and water leakage, which will lead to water seepage in the indoor wall and even cause the wall to fall off in the long run.

So in the developer did not fulfill the obligation to inform the premise of the purchase of the waist line layer, the developer should be liable for compensation? In this regard, our lawyers through the case search in the form of a summary of the different court's views.

case retrieval]

1. zhangyan, Huang Haidong Commercial Housing presale Contract Dispute Second Instance Civil Judgment (Case No.:(2020) E 05 Min Zhong No. 1798)

Overview of the court's point of view: the sales staff only told the house was located on the waist line floor, but did not tell the defects of the commercial house on the waist line floor. judging from the evidence submitted by zhangyan and Huang Haidong in the "special tips for house purchase of Yichang hengdaming capital phase ii project (residence)", the sales staff deliberately took photos of article 23 in the tips separately, concealing the most important defect tips. judging from the combination of the evidence and chat records, it can be confirmed that the sales staff did not inform Zhang Yan and Huang Haidong of the defects of the waist line floor house. The Yichang Intermediate People's Court held: "Because the sales staff of Jinya Real Estate Company did not fully inform the appellant of the defects in the waist-line house, zhangyan and Huang Haidong made a wrong judgment, issued a" Subscription Commitment "and paid part of the purchase price and deposit. After zhangyan and Huang Haidong discovered that there were many defects in the waist-line house to be purchased, they did not agree to continue to sign a commercial housing sales contract with Jinya Real Estate Company in accordance with the" Subscription Commitment ", and demanded the return of the paid purchase price and deposit, which was in compliance with the law. The court supports it."

2. Civil Judgment of Second Instance on Dispute over Commercial Housing presale Contract between Shaanxi Mingliu Real Estate Co., Ltd. and Li Shuzhan (Case No.:(2020) Shaanxi 01 Minzhong No. 11649)

Summary of the court's view: According to Article 6 of the the People's Republic of China Contract Law: "The parties shall follow the principle of good faith in exercising their rights and performing their obligations." And Article 42, paragraph 3: "If the parties cause losses to the other party under any of the following circumstances in the course of concluding the contract, they shall be liable for damages: (3) other acts that violate the principle of good faith." According to the regulations, the living room, balcony and windows of the master bedroom and the second bedroom of the commercial house involved in the case are located at the waist line of the building, which is different from other non-waist-line houses in the same building. In addition to affecting the perception and landscape, lighting is also affected to a certain extent. As a professional real estate development company, celebrity company is aware of this difference and should reasonably remind and explain its obligations to Li Shu Zhan according to the principle of good faith, in order for Li Shuzhan to make a choice of whether to buy or not on the basis of an accurate understanding of the real situation of the house involved. Li Shuzhan and Celeb Company are now in dispute as to whether this obligation has been fulfilled. The court of first instance held that, first, neither the Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Commercial Housing (presale) nor its annexes gave any indication that the house purchased by Li Shu Zhan was located on the waistline floor of the building; second, although the celebrity company argued that Li Shu Zhan should have known that the house purchased was located on the waistline floor of the building through the sand table model. However, for ordinary commercial housing buyers, even if the similarities and differences between them can be found from the sand table model, it is difficult to accurately judge the large difference in lighting between the involved houses and normal houses at the waist line of the building without special reminders and explanations. The celebrity company uses "Qujiang • Good Time Project Sales Planning Agency Contract" and "Xi'an Good Time Sales Department Site Management System". It is inferred that the sales staff explained to Li Shuzhan that the relevant situation of the house involved in the case was obviously insufficient evidence, and the court of first instance refused to approve it according to law. Therefore, in the case that the celebrity company has not provided other evidence to support it, it is difficult to determine that it has fulfilled its reasonable reminder and explanation obligations based on the display of the sand table model alone. The court of second instance held that the parties should follow the principle of good faith in exercising their rights and performing their obligations. In this case, Li Shuzhan signed a commercial housing sales contract with a celebrity company, and Li Shuzhan purchased a house developed and constructed by a celebrity company. As a professional real estate development company, celebrity company should, in accordance with the principle of good faith, fully explain the situation of the house involved to Li Shu Zhan, especially the differences between the house involved and other non-waist-line houses in the same building. However, the celebrity company did not make any explanation in the commercial housing sales contract signed with Li Shuzhan that the house purchased by Li Shuzhan was located on the waist line of the building, and the celebrity company failed to provide evidence to prove that its sales staff explained to Li Shuzhan. Therefore, it can be concluded that the celebrity company did not give a detailed explanation and prompt on the difference between the house involved and other houses when Li Shuzhan purchased the house involved. However, the living room, balcony, master bedroom and second bedroom windows of the house involved are different from those of the non-waist-line house in the same building, which has a certain impact on the appearance, landscape and lighting of the house. Therefore, the first-instance judgment, based on the principle of fairness and reasonableness, determined that the celebrity company compensated Li Shu Zhan's loss according to 1.5 of the total house price, which has factual and legal basis and should be maintained.

3. Zhang Lingdi and Su Dongxue Civil Judgment of Second Instance on Disputes over Housing Sales Contracts (Case No.:(2019) Zhejiang 01 Min Zhong No. 267)

Overview of the court's point of view: The court of first instance held: "The focus of the main dispute in this case is whether Shimao Company has clearly informed Zhang Lingdi and Su Dongxue of the existence of architectural decorative lines on the periphery of the purchased houses when selling the commercial houses involved in the case. In this case, the sand table model of the real estate involved in the case clearly shows that there are architectural decorative lines on the periphery of the house involved in the case. The plan of the house in Annex I of the contract signed by Zhang Lingdi and Su Dongxue also indicates that there are decorative lines on the facade of the house, which is completely consistent with the sand table model. Moreover, item (1) of Article 11 of Annex 9 of the Contract stipulates that the buyer has understood and approved the surrounding environment, location, space, structure, orientation, facade, balcony, air conditioner, beams and columns of the purchased house, as well as the influence of lighting, ventilation, noise, humidity and other use functions of the house due to the above conditions. Therefore, the court of first instance held that Shimao Company had clearly informed the case that there were architectural decorative lines on the periphery of the house. Zhang Lingdi and Su Dongxue, as the opposite parties of the contract, had the obligation of careful attention to the contents of the contract and should know the contents of the specific terms. Therefore, Zhang Lingdi and Su Dongxue argued that Shimao Company's failure to inform the house involved in the case of waist line could not be established, and Zhang Lingdi and Su Dongxue's reasons for refusing to accept the house could not be established."

The court of second instance held: "The case signed by Zhang Lingdi, Su Dongxue and Shimao Company involves a" Zhejiang Province Commercial Housing Sales Contract ", which stipulates that the commercial housing purchased by the buyer is a presale commercial housing; The floor plan of the commercial housing purchased by the buyer is shown in Annex I of the contract. The exterior wall decoration lines have been drawn in the plan of the annex, and the exterior wall decoration lines are also indicated in the annex. Sand table photos can confirm that Shimao Company has shown the presence of decorative lines on the periphery of the house involved in the case in the sand table. Under the circumstances that Shimao Company has fulfilled its obligation to inform and clearly stated in the contract involved in the case, Zhang Lingdi and Su Dongxue should have known clearly about the existence of decorative lines outside the wall outside the house involved in the case when signing the" Zhejiang Province Commercial Housing Sales Contract ". Therefore, Zhang Lingdi and Su Dongxue believe that the reason for appeal not clearly informed by Shimao Company cannot be established and the court will not accept it."

4. Li Hu and Yueyang Dinghui Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. Civil Judgment of Second Instance on Disputes over Commercial Housing Sales Contracts (Case No.:(2020) Xiang 06 Min Zhong No. 4245)

General situation of the court's point of view: the court of first instance held: "Li Hu appealed to terminate the contract on the grounds that dinghong company did not inform Li Hu that the floor chosen was on the waist line of the building when signing the contract, which was different from other floors. according to Li Hu's understanding from the owner opposite the floor, the price of the house at the waist line was discounted. The court of first instance held that Li Hu's right to choose to buy a house and to make demands on the house should be considered when Li Hu signed the contract. However, the waist belt on the floor of the house does not affect the residence or the structure of the house. It does not belong to the scope that Dinghong Company must explain. If Li Hu has special requirements, he can understand, explain and make an agreement in the contract when signing the contract. Li Hu's request to terminate the contract has no factual legal basis."

The court of second instance held that: "In this case, the" Commercial Housing Sales Contract (presale) "signed by Li Hu and Dinghui Company is an expression of the true intentions of both parties, and does not violate the mandatory provisions of laws and administrative regulations. It is legal and effective. Both parties have fulfilled the contract. Li Hu has no evidence to prove that there is a contractual agreement or legal provisions to terminate the contract, there is also no sufficient evidence to prove that Dinghong Company has a discount on the sales price of the waist belt floor house due to the difference between the structure of the house and other floors, and Dinghong Company has concealed this fact, Li Hu should bear the adverse consequences of the failure to prove. If Li Hu has any requirements for the floor and household structure of the house, he should put forward it when signing the" Commercial Housing Sales Contract (presale) "and make an agreement in the contract. Li Hu's request to terminate the contract has no factual basis, and it is not improper for the original judgment to reject his claim."

5. Civil Judgment of First Instance on Property Damage Compensation Dispute between Wu Zhenjun and Tai 'an Crown Construction Co., Ltd. (Case No.:(2018) Lu 0991 Minchu No. 526)

Summary of the court's point of view: "The plaintiff is compensation for property damage caused by the quality of the house. According to the photos of the leakage parts in the house submitted by the plaintiff, it can prove that there is leakage in the walls of the house, but the plaintiff failed to provide strong evidence to prove whether it was caused by the quality problems of the house construction project. To take a step back, even if the housing leakage is caused by the quality problem of the housing project, according to Article 39 of the Regulations on the Quality Management of Construction Projects, the anti-leakage warranty period of the exterior wall of the construction project is 5 years. During the warranty period, the developer should repair it, but the project completion acceptance record certificate provided by the defendant can prove that the building has exceeded the warranty period. The plaintiff should actively coordinate the owners' committee established in the community to start the residential special maintenance fund to solve the maintenance problem, or according to the relevant contract agreement to solve in accordance with the law. Therefore, the plaintiff's request for the defendant to assume responsibility for maintenance has no factual and legal basis and should be rejected."

View of the Firm]

Regarding the dispute over the commercial housing sales contract related to the waist line, the focus of the case is mainly on whether the developer has fulfilled the full obligation of notification. With regard to the developer's obligation to inform on its own initiative, laws and regulations do not provide for this, but according to Article 500 of the the People's Republic of China Civil Code: "If a party has one of the following circumstances in the course of concluding a contract, causing losses to the other party, he shall be liable for compensation: ...... (II) intentionally concealing important facts related to the conclusion of the contract or providing false information." In the commercial housing sales contract, whether the commercial housing is located in the waist layer is an important factor affecting whether the buyer buys the house or not. If the developer deliberately conceals this important fact, the developer may bear the corresponding liability for "deliberately concealing the important facts related to the conclusion of the contract. Through the study of judicial cases in practice, some judges even believe that developers should fulfill their full obligation of notification, that is, developers should not only actively inform buyers whether they are located in the waistline layer, but also inform buyers of the existence of the waistline layer. The drawbacks and flaws, otherwise the developer may bear the corresponding liability for compensation for failing to fulfill the full obligation of notification.