The 110-square-meter house, when I got it, found that the area of the suite was only more than 60 square meters; 31% of the shared area promised by the salesperson orally when the house was purchased was turned into 46% when the house was repossessed...
Li Li (pseudonym), a citizen of Qingdao City, Shandong Province, was supposed to be happy to close the house last year, but was trapped by the problems caused by the public pool area.
After more than a year of defending her rights, she still couldn't figure it out: "Why is half of my house being sold out by a public share?"
The reporter recently interviewed and found that the public has criticized the need to bear the cost of the public space when buying a house, and believes that the existence of the common space gives home buyers a sense of discomfort that they have to pay for the public space that does not belong to them.
Against this background, a voice has been rampant in recent years - the cancellation of the public pool area system.
So, what is the basis for the existence of the public pool area system?
Can it be cancelled under the current circumstances?
Are there alternatives or further improvements?
Around these issues, the reporter launched an investigation and interview.
Half of the exterior walls are included in the suite, and the buyers are confused by the term
In April 2018, Li Li purchased a house with a total area of 110.25 square meters in a community in Qingdao.
At that time, the sales staff told her that the proportion of the public pool area would reach 31%, but the actual closing time may be smaller than this value.
However, in September 2021, Li Li, who was about to close the house, was dumbfounded: he pushed open the door, and he was greeted with super thick walls, cramped space, and three pitifully small bedrooms.
After looking for a home inspector to measure, she found that the actual suite was only about 61 square meters, and the master bedroom could not even put down the double bed.
Li Li later inquired with the seller and learned that the difference between the 75 square meters of the interior area shown in the contract and the 61 square meters she actually measured is mainly reflected in the thickness of the wall, and half of the thickness of the outer wall is included in the set. Internal building area.
"Half the area of the outer wall of nearly 1 meter is the construction area of the owner's suite. However, the developer did not specify when selling, and deliberately confused 'common share', 'share share coefficient' and 'share share rate' when selling Concepts such as "building area inside the sleeve", all kinds of professional terms were piled up, and they were immediately confused. I never thought that the actual inner area of the sleeve was so small."
It was not until he defended his rights in accordance with the law that Li Li got the "official" caliber - the public share area of the community housing accounted for 46%.
"This means that we have spent millions of dollars to buy houses, and we actually don't live in nearly half of them. If I knew this from the beginning, I would not have bought it anyway."
With Ms. Yao from Li Litong Community, I bought a house with a duplex up and down floor of 160 square meters. As a result, the inner area of the house was only about 90 square meters.
What is the common area?
The houses we buy cannot exist in isolation, but use the public areas of the entire building, such as stairs, halls, elevator shafts, etc. These areas are added up to each buyer, which is the common area.
The public building area consists of two parts
"According to the relevant regulations, the public building area consists of the following two parts: one is the elevator shaft, stairwell, garbage channel, transformer room, equipment room, public hall and aisle, basement, duty guard room and other functions that are the whole building. The construction area of the public and management houses for service; the second is the partition wall between the suite (unit) and the public building space and half of the horizontal projection area of the outer wall (including the gable). The house we bought cannot exist alone, Instead, it is necessary to use the public areas of the entire building, such as stairs, halls, elevator shafts, etc. These areas are added up to each buyer, which is the public area." Meng Lina, senior partner of Beijing Kangda Law Firm, said.
The reporter recently interviewed a number of housing agents and home buyers and found that the public pool area has become an important factor in housing sales.
Lou Jianbo, director of the Real Estate Law Research Center of Peking University, told reporters that the public pool area itself exists objectively, and there is no unreasonable charge for it, and from the perspective of home buyers, they may not be willing to continue the shared part (ownership). left in the hands of the developers.
However, adding the common area to the total price area does cause confusion for home buyers.
"In order to avoid this confusion, there are two methods, one is to price by set, which includes the cost of the common area in the total price; the other is to calculate the price based on the area inside the set, excluding the cost of the common area. , to inform such costs separately, but there should be no difference in the final total price between the two, because the shared area exists objectively, and the difference between the two is only in which one can inform consumers of relevant information more efficiently. " Lou Jianbo said, if the two prices are not the same, the developer is suspected of fraud, "the problem is not the public pool itself, but to unify the pricing method."
It is difficult for consumers to calculate the public stall area
Professionals said: "It consists of, for example, the entrance hall, elevator shaft, stairway, ventilation ducts, as well as those that serve the building, such as the secondary pressurized fire water tank on the roof, and some other roofs. Some of the facilities, such as firefighting facilities, are considered as the public pool area of this building. This is the building's own building. It is very complicated and extremely difficult for actual consumers to measure and calculate. Therefore, consumers need to measure and calculate. The pool area is basically impossible.”
Experts said that because the calculation of the common pool area is too professional, it is difficult for consumers to distinguish, which provides opportunities for developers and surveying agencies to exploit loopholes.
Around the pool area, there is still a confused account.
Are the underground garages and internal business premises that are commonly rented and sold in the community counted in the public pool area?
In some communities where the answer is "yes", the proceeds of rental and sale should be shared by all owners.
However, in reality, there are very few cases where the operating income of the owner's shared area can be returned.
It is not difficult to understand why in some communities, developers, properties and owners are arguing about whether underground garages should be charged.
Expert discussion
It is difficult to cancel the public booth
It is urgent to improve the relevant regulations
Under the controversy, the voice of "cancelling the public pool area" is getting louder and louder.
So, is it feasible to cancel the public pool area system now?
In Meng Lina's view, it is not feasible to cancel the public pool area system at this stage.
According to the "Administrative Measures for the Sales of Commercial Houses", the sales of commercial houses can be priced according to the set (unit), or according to the building area or floor area of the set.
If the price is calculated according to the set (unit) or according to the building area within the set, the building area and the shared total building area shall be indicated in the commercial house sales contract.
Therefore, no matter how the commercial housing is sold, it should reflect the shared total floor area.
Even if it is sold in sets, there is still a common pool area.
The shared area exists objectively, and must be shared by some or all buyers.
Zhao Xiuchi, a professor at Capital University of Economics and Business and vice-chairman and secretary-general of the Beijing Real Estate Law Society, also believes that it is not feasible to cancel the public pool area at present.
After the housing reform, the measurement of housing area, the issuance of real estate certificates and real estate certificates in my country are all based on the building area.
House prices, property fees, heating fees, etc. are also measured by the building area. If the public pool area is cancelled and measured by the used area, it will bring confusion to the pricing standard.
The house price, property fee and heating fee per square meter will rise, but it will cause another misunderstanding that the price has risen.
A number of interviewed experts believe that it is difficult to reach a consensus on whether the public pool area system should be abolished for the time being, but at present, the public pool area system can be improved from the policy level.
In response to the problems existing in the current public pool area system, Meng Lina suggested improving relevant surveying and mapping specifications, issuing guidance on the proportion of public pools, requiring surveying and mapping units to improve the quality of surveying and mapping results, and smooth the mechanism for investigating errors.
When selling a house, real estate development companies are required to disclose the surveying and mapping results at the sales office, and the apportionment principle, apportionment location, etc., are clearly indicated to the homebuyer. .
At the same time, further improve the relevant stipulations in the commercial housing sales contract, and clearly stipulate the handling method of the error between the apportioned area and the property registration area and the responsibility for breach of contract, so as to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the buyers.
Comprehensive CCTV Network, Rule of Law Daily
The details of the public stall should be "baked in the sun"
A house of 110 square meters can only use more than 60 square meters, and the public share accounts for nearly half. Is it reasonable?
The current regulations have no proportional limit on the size of the public pool, which is mainly related to the planning and design of new projects and supporting facilities.
From the owner's point of view, the living area of the apartment and the community public service area vary depending on the owner's demands.
The author believes that in the case of the coexistence of multi-level housing consumption, for different types of new projects, in the planning and design and approval stages, the public service-based public sharing should be occupied, and reasonable planning indicators should be limited. Services are provided to the owners.
As far as this case is concerned, is 46% of the public stall reasonable, and is the outer wall of nearly one meter too large?
The author believes that if there is a discrepancy between 46% and 46% in planning, design, approval, and sales promotion, arbitration can be resolved.
However, because the calculation, scope, planning and design of the public share are too professional, the management department needs to give guidance.
Doing so will help regulate the business behavior of developers.
After all, the owner pays the same housing price for the common and exclusive parts, but the cost paid by the developer is different. Be wary of the behavior of intentionally increasing the public share and reducing the development cost.
At present, the owners' doubts about the public stalls do not stop there. There are several types of problems.
For example, developers make it clear that elevator rooms, corridor rooms, and building lobbies belong to the public pool area, but while charging property management fees, they take advertising revenue as their own.
The swimming pool and the above-ground parking lot are shared parts, but they are open to the public, which is similar to "one-bedroom, two-for-sale".
Do elevators and corridors need to be renovated?
Do the walls need to be heated?
Even if it needs to be decorated and heated, the standard is different and the cost will be lower.
Low-density residences (such as villas) are highly profitable, and developers have inherent incentives to move more of the public share to high-rise or bungalows.
As a common part of the public pool, it is very professional, and the content varies with the real estate. What is included and which is not included, and the boundaries are unclear. If the corresponding supervision does not keep up, it may create space for infringing on the rights and interests of the owners.
Not only developers may arbitrage in this regard, but property companies will also use public spaces to make profits (such as elevator advertisements), cleaning and security guards use underground storage spaces or aisles to store waste, and owners privately use public aisles as storage rooms (such as shoe racks).
In essence, the property rights of the inner part of the housing are the clearest, and no one can infringe, but the property rights of the common part are shared, and the boundaries of rights are blurred, which will lead to the continuous occurrence of "public tragedies".
Community life is inseparable from public stalls, and it is more of an emotional move to say "cancellation of public stalls".
The most important thing is that the standards and details must be "baked in the sun", and the supervision must keep up.
For example, it is necessary to formulate public sharing guidelines for different types of communities; the content of the public sharing part should be clear, and the operating part should be attributed to all owners, included in the property maintenance fund, or deducted from the property fee; when the house is delivered, an independent third party must Measure and publicize the common pool area; explore the difference between the common pool pricing and the set pricing.
The public pool area has been repeatedly criticized and questioned, which means that the top priority is to clarify the awareness of property rights and consolidate the infringement must be investigated.
Remember, buying a home isn't just about living indoors, it's about community service supported in part by the pool.
Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News Special Commentator Li Yujia (Chief Researcher of Housing Policy Research Center of Guangdong Urban Planning Institute)