Guangzhou new residential property fee regulations will be implemented on January 1st next year! Authoritative answers to hot issues →

From January 1, 2024, the Notice on Further Regulating the Residential Property Service Charges in Guangzhou (hereinafter referred to as the "new regulations") issued by Guangzhou Development and Reform Commission, Guangzhou Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau and Guangzhou Market Supervision Bureau will be formally implemented.

According to the new regulations, the first-class residential property service fee in Guangzhou should not exceed 2.8 yuan per square meter per month, and the parking space property management fee should not exceed 120 yuan per month. In response to this regulation, many citizens have raised questions about "who has the final say in the standard of residential property fees" and "whether their own property fees have dropped".

Recently, in order to ensure the implementation of the new regulations, the Municipal Development and Reform Commission issued authoritative answers to the hot issues of public concern, responding to public concerns.

1. What items are applicable to the new regulations (including service levels and charging standards) that will take effect on January 1, 2024?

A:According to the second paragraph of Article 29 of the new regulations, from January 1, 2024, if the newly-built ordinary residential construction unit has not hired a property service provider, the service level and charging standard of the ordinary residential property shall be implemented according to the new regulations;

In terms of parking spaces, the pre-property service charging standards for existing and newly-built ordinary residential parking spaces (garages) shall be implemented according to the new regulations.

2, the existing ordinary residential property service charges more than 2.8 yuan/square meter, is it a violation of the policy?

A:No.

If the owners’ meeting has been established, the charges for ordinary residential property services shall be subject to market adjustment. Ordinary residential property service charges that have been jointly decided by the owners shall be implemented according to the standards jointly decided by the owners.

For the newly-built ordinary residential property service charges that have not been set up by the owners’ meeting or decided jointly by the owners, if the construction unit applies before the pre-sale and is approved by the competent price department with management authority, it may also exceed 2.8 yuan/m2/month. Whether the ordinary residential property service has been approved by the competent price department with management authority can be consulted by the development and reform department of the district.

In order to protect the right to know, the house buyer can ask the construction unit to provide information such as the pre-service level, project, content and charging standard in the newly-built residential sales place, and the construction unit should provide relevant information.

3. Does the competent price department have the right to price the property services in different levels? The Civil Code clarifies that the property fees are jointly decided by the owners. Does the new regulation violate the Civil Code?

A:The competent price department may implement the government-guided price for the pre-residential property service charges of ordinary houses.

According to the relevant provisions of the Price Law and Guangdong Pricing Catalogue (2022 Edition), with the authorization of the provincial government, Guangzhou has implemented the government-guided price for the pre-residential property service charges in accordance with the law, and Guangzhou has determined the pre-residential property service charges in this city according to the principle of adapting the charges to the service level.

In addition, it is necessary to distinguish between early property services and property services.

Pre-realty service refers to the realty service provided by the construction unit before the owners and the owners’ congress hire realty service enterprises, which is a special form of realty service. Pre-property service charges have been confirmed by the construction unit and its selected property service providers before the house is sold, and the owners have not produced them at this time.

In order to protect the rights and interests of all owners, before the owners jointly decide on the property service charges, the early property service charges of ordinary houses shall be subject to the government-guided price. If the property service charges are jointly decided by the owners, the government-guided price will be invalid for the project.

4. If after the first owners’ meeting, but no resolution is made on the property service fee, the competent price department with price management authority makes a decision to maintain or reduce it, will it be invalid?

A:After the first owners’ meeting, no matter whether a resolution is made on the property service charge, the government-guided price or the approved maximum price will be invalid for the project, and the owners’ meeting will decide whether to continue to refer to it.

It should be noted that the convening of the owners’ meeting is not a necessary condition for the adjustment of property service charges. According to the Civil Code and Guangzhou Property Management Regulations, the property service charges can also be adjusted upon the joint decision of the owners.

5. If the original industry committee has expired, but a new industry committee has not yet been established, is the government-guided price implemented for the residential property service fee?

A:No.

According to "Guangdong Pricing Catalogue (2022 Edition)", the property service charges of ordinary houses and supporting self-owned parking spaces (garages) after the establishment of the owners’ meeting will be subject to market adjustment prices. After the establishment of the first industry committee, the property service charges of the ordinary residence and supporting self-owned parking spaces (garages) will be subject to market adjustment.

6. A residential area has a first phase, a second phase and a third phase. Are the property service charges in the early stage of residence the same? The project is constructed and accepted separately. Is the property service fee for parking spaces determined by the number of planned parking spaces alone or accumulated by the number of planned parking spaces within a property management area? Some of them are more than 1000, and some of them are not more than 1000. What if some of them are expensive and some of them are low?

A:In the same residential area developed by stages, the property service charges in the early stage of residence may be different. Prior to the joint decision of the owners, the preliminary property service charges shall be executed according to the preliminary property service contract signed by the construction unit and the property service provider according to law.

According to the new regulations, in principle, the number of parking spaces for residential construction shall be confirmed based on the number of parking spaces that have been approved by the planning department (planning opinions or planning acceptance certificates). Separate acceptance, according to the separate acceptance of the planning opinions or planning acceptance certificate of the number of parking spaces.

The new regulations clarify the maximum price of property service charges in the early stage of self-owned parking spaces, and property service providers can determine specific standards according to laws and regulations within the scope of the maximum price according to the actual situation such as whether to operate continuously or not. Owners can also determine the fees with the property service providers through mutual decision.

7. Does the property grade in the new regulations have to meet all conditions before the corresponding service grade can be evaluated? If there is a problem with the quality of property services, who will be responsible for, supervise and identify it?

A:There is no need to evaluate the pre-service level of ordinary residential property in the new regulations.

In the new regulation, the pre-property service level is that the construction unit makes a menu choice of pre-property service according to the characteristics and needs of the project before hiring property service providers. The specific services agreed upon by the construction unit and the pre-selected realty service provider through public bidding shall not be less than (lower than) the service content of the selected level.

According to Article 8 of Guangzhou Property Management Regulations, under the guidance and supervision of the housing administrative department, the property service industry association shall supervise the service quality and behavior of property service providers and their employees.

8. The number of parking spaces for residential buildings is based on the planning opinions or the planning acceptance certificate and the Construction Project Planning Permit. How to obtain these documents?

A:According to "Guangzhou Property Management Regulations" and other regulations, property services companies undertaking inspection should verify the planning conditions and obtain the certificate of completion and acceptance of construction projects. According to the requirements of undertaking inspection, the planning verification opinions of construction projects, etc., shall be confirmed by the property service provider on site and filed.

Owners or users of parking spaces can inquire about the planning opinions or planning acceptance certificates from the property service providers, and the property service providers should take the initiative to disclose the number of parking spaces for ordinary residential buildings.

9. In the same building, there are residential buildings, commercial apartments and shops sharing an underground parking lot. How to define whether it is a self-owned parking space for ordinary residential buildings?

A:According to Article 6 of the Notice of Guangzhou Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau on Printing and Distributing the Management Measures of Parking Spaces and Garages for Real Estate Development Projects in Guangzhou (Sui Jian Gui Zi [2019] No.5), if there are houses with different functions such as residence, commerce and office in the building division, the construction unit shall clearly indicate the number and specific location of parking spaces with various functions in the rental and sales plan.

According to Article 20 of the Guangzhou Parking Regulations, if the construction unit rents and sells parking spaces for commercial and residential integrated construction projects, it shall clearly indicate the number and specific location of residential parking spaces in the rental and sales plan.

10. Are all property service companies required to provide owners with six free access cards?

A:No.

From January 1, 2024, the newly-built ordinary residence shall be equipped with 6 access cards for the buyer free of charge according to the intelligent access control system agreed in the planning or sales contract. Ordinary houses that have been delivered for use before, the number of free equipment shall be implemented according to the original regulations.

Wen Zhen reporter Hang Ying correspondent Sui Faxuan