After signing the house sales contract, the house seller breached the contract and did not actively apply for the property ownership certificate as stipulated in the contract, resulting in the house buyer being unable to handle the house transfer procedures. How should the house buyer safeguard his rights and interests? On June 24, Red Star News learned of such a case from Chengdu Shuangliu Court. The court recently ruled that the house seller who maliciously breached the contract should continue to perform the contract and assist the plaintiff buyer to handle relevant transfer procedures.
↑Information chart. Pictures from Visual China
On August 1, 2015, Ms. Cheng and Lan and others signed a "Second-hand House Sales Appointment Contract", agreeing that Ms. Cheng would purchase a house of more than 130 square meters from Lan and others, located in Xihangang Street, Shuangliu District, Chengdu, priced at 590,000 yuan. At the time of purchase, the house had not yet obtained the relevant ownership certificate, so the two parties agreed in the contract that the seller, Lan, and others should submit materials to apply for the property ownership certificate within 30 days after the house can be issued a housing ownership certificate (subject to the notice from the housing development unit), and unconditionally cooperate with Ms. Cheng to handle the property transfer procedures after obtaining the property ownership certificate.
After the contract was signed, Ms. Cheng paid most of the house payment as agreed. The house involved in the case was delivered to Ms. Cheng before August 30, 2015, and the house handover procedures were completed. Since then, Ms. Cheng has stayed here ever since. On February 27, 2017, the developer of the house involved in the case issued a notice informing the owners that they could go to the company to apply for separate property rights certificates. However, Lan and others passively performed the contract. After receiving the notice, they did not submit relevant certification materials. As a result, the ownership certificate for the household was never processed, and Ms. Cheng was unable to obtain the ownership certificate for the house involved in the case.
The Shuangliu Court held that the "Second-hand House Sales and Purchase Reservation Contract" signed by Ms. Cheng and Lan et al. was the true intention of both parties and did not violate legal provisions. It should be valid and both parties should fully perform their contractual obligations in accordance with the contract. Ms. Cheng has paid the house payment to Lan and others as agreed, and the house has also gone through the delivery procedures. The defendant seller should apply for the property rights certificate as agreed, and then promptly assist Ms. Cheng in handling the property transfer procedures.
The court held that based on the evidence provided by Ms. Cheng and the developer’s statement in court, there are no obstacles to obtaining a property ownership certificate for the house involved in the case. Therefore, the responsibility lies with the seller’s refusal to submit complete certificate application materials to the developer. Therefore, the court held that the contract involved in the case could continue to be performed, and the defendant should actively apply for the ownership certificate of the house involved in the case, and immediately assist Ms. Cheng to handle the transfer procedures after obtaining the certificate of ownership, and transfer the house to Ms. Cheng’s name.
The judge handling the case stated that in practice, due to changes in the real estate market, housing prices may rise or fall after signing a contract. If the contract has not been fully performed, the seller will violate the principle of good faith, intend to breach the contract, and hinder the continued performance of the contract through various means. The parties concerned should actively safeguard their rights. "In this case, the seller breached the contract in bad faith. Based on the continuity of registration, the parties were ordered to register the transfer of house ownership in sequence, which is conducive to protecting the rights of the observant party and better maintaining an honest and trustworthy market transaction environment."
