Case introduction

The plaintiff, Zheng, and the two defendants, Shangwu Village Economic Cooperative in Danxi Sub-district, Xiangshan County, and the Villagers Committee of Shangwu Village, Danxi Sub-district, Xiangshan County, signed the "House Sales Contract" on March 5, 2014. Building 2# of Shangjian Construction, the land is collective land; the two defendants sold the second unit No. 304 to the plaintiff. The total price of the house is 740,652 yuan, and the bicycle shed is priced separately at 2,500 yuan or 2,000 yuan per square meter; the housing delivery conditions are based on experience and acceptance. Qualified and water, electricity, roads meet the normal opening and use conditions; the warranty period is five years for the roof and exterior walls, and the warranty period for other sub-projects is two years; the contract also stipulates other related rights and obligations. Later, the plaintiff paid 740,652 yuan for the house purchase and 8,120 yuan for the carport as agreed, and renovated the house before moving in.

The two defendants promised to issue a real estate certificate when they sold the house. It was not until August 2017 that the plaintiff learned that when the two defendants built the house, the Xiangshan County People's Government had coordinated the construction of the house, and formed the minutes of the special meeting, which made it clear that the plot of land could not be divided for sale and real estate development in disguised form. Later, the plaintiff consulted with relevant departments such as Xiangshan County Planning Bureau, Xiangshan County Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, and received a clear answer that it is impossible to obtain a real estate certificate for the house. After many consultations, the two parties failed to reach an agreement on the cancellation of the house sales contract, the return of the purchase price and the compensation for decoration losses.

Investigation and Handling

The plaintiff and other five house buyers separately filed lawsuits with the Xiangshan County People's Court, requesting the court to confirm the invalidity of the house sale and purchase contract involved in the case, and asking the two defendants to return the purchase price and compensate for the loss of decoration. During the trial, the Xiangshan Court entrusted an appraisal agency to appraise the residual value of the house. After the trial, it was found that the plaintiff was not a villager of the two defendants, and the land involved in the case was still collectively owned by Shangwu Village. Therefore, the Xiangshan Court ruled that the house sales contract was invalid, and supported the plaintiff's claim that the two defendants should return the purchase price and compensate for the loss of decoration. After the first-instance judgment, the two defendants filed an appeal. After the trial, the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court held that the reasons for the two defendants' appeal could not be established, and the judgment rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.

Legal Analysis

Combined with this case, the focus of the dispute between the two parties is the legal validity of the house sales contract involved in the case, whether the two defendants should return the purchase price and compensate for the loss of decoration.

1. The two defendants built houses on collective land and sold them, which violated the relevant provisions of the land use control system stipulated by the Land Administration Law; and the houses sold by the two defendants were not subject to completion inspection, which violated the regulations on the quality management of construction projects. According to the provisions of Article 52, Paragraph 5 of the Contract Law, the house sales contract involved in the case violated the mandatory provisions of laws and administrative regulations and is an invalid contract.

2. Although the plaintiff and the defendant signed a house sale contract, the plaintiff paid the house price, the defendant handed over the house, and the plaintiff has used it up to now, the property of the land where the house is located is collectively owned by Shangwu Village, and the plaintiff is not the collective economic organization The member has no right to obtain the collective land use right, so the house sale contract involved in the case violates the law and should be invalid.

3. If the contract is invalid, the property acquired due to the contract should be returned. If it cannot be returned or it is unnecessary to return, it should be compensated at a reduced price. The party at fault should compensate the other party for the losses caused by it. If both parties are at fault, they should bear their own responsibility. corresponding responsibilities. Therefore, the contract for the sale of the house involved in the case was deemed invalid, the plaintiff should return the house involved in the case, and the two defendants should return the purchase price and compensate for the loss of decoration.

The house involved in the case is a residence. The purpose of the plaintiff’s purchase of the house is to live in. It is in accordance with the common sense of the use of residential houses to decorate and renovate the white blank house. And to return it, it is a loss for the plaintiff. The decoration loss was caused by the invalidation of the contract, not the plaintiff's decoration behavior itself, and the plaintiff's decoration and decoration behavior belonged to the normal use of the house, not the behavior of expanding the loss, so the two defendants should bear the corresponding liability for compensation. To sum up, the house sale and purchase contract involved in the case is invalid, and the two defendants should return the purchase price and compensate for the loss of decoration.

Bonin Legal Tips

Ordinary people should pay attention to the following matters when buying a house:

1. The nature of the land use right of the purchased house. According to the laws of our country, houses built on state-owned land can be freely circulated. Houses built on collective land cannot be purchased by members of the collective economic organization without legal effect, and they cannot apply for real estate rights certificates, enter the market for transactions, and even more difficult to realize the ownership of houses. Increasing the value of.

2. The property registration status of the purchased house. In daily life, there are situations where house property rights are restricted from trading, such as seizures and mortgages. Under these circumstances, home buyers cannot register for changes in house property rights. Therefore, the buyer should ask the seller to provide the registration information of the property right to ensure that the property right is clear and complete before the transaction can be conducted.

3. Don't trust the promise of the seller. In house transactions, in addition to signing a detailed written contract between the two parties, the buyer should not trust the seller's promise, but should conduct an on-the-spot investigation and write down the matters that the seller promises that are closely related to the buyer's rights, and fix the relevant issues. Evidence, in this way, in the event of a dispute, the buyer can restore the factual situation and safeguard his legitimate rights and interests.

Introduction to lawyers

Zeng Jun

Director of the Legal Advisory Department of the firm. Master of Litigation Law from Southwest University of Political Science and Law, member of Jiusan Society, member of Ningbo Lawyers Association Young Lawyers and Foreign Exchange Committee, member of Ningbo Lawyers Association Corporate Legal Committee, Ningbo Lawyers Association Construction and Real Estate Professional Committee, won the "2013-2014 Ningbo Lawyers Association" City Outstanding Young Lawyers", was included in the list of the first batch of "growing" famous lawyers in other fields of civil and commercial affairs in Ningbo. So far, it has handled more than 200 civil and commercial cases, focusing on commercial arbitration, litigation and non-litigation legal business, and focusing on the development of corporate and construction engineering legal affairs. Served as more than 10 enterprises and institutions including Ningbo University Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., Ningbo Ningxing Special Steel Group Co., Ltd., Ningbo Free Trade Zone High-tech Container Co., Ltd., Ningbo University of Nottingham, Ningbo Yiyuan, Ningbo Yinzhou Aoke International Trade Co., Ltd. legal counsel.