Detailed Explanation of Conditions for Exercising the Right to Rescind a House Sale Contract and Legal Consequences
## Conditions for exercising the right to rescind a house sale contract
The right to rescind a house sale contract is divided into contractual rescission rights and statutory rescission rights. Contractual rescission rights are based on the circumstances explicitly agreed upon by both parties in the contract, such as one party's overdue payment or overdue delivery of the house beyond a specified period. Statutory rescission rights are based on Article 563 of the Civil Code, covering force majeure, one party's explicit refusal to perform the principal obligation, delayed performance that remains unfulfilled after a reminder, and other situations. Exercising the right to rescind requires meeting conditions: the grounds for rescission must have actually occurred, and the party entitled to rescind must notify the other party within a reasonable period; otherwise, the right may be lost due to failure to exercise it. In practice, courts strictly examine whether the exercise of the rescission right violates the principle of good faith to avoid abuse.
## Procedure and limitations for exercising the right to rescind
The right to rescind must be exercised through written notice, which takes effect when it reaches the other party. If the other party objects to the rescission, they may request a court or arbitration institution to confirm the validity of the rescission. Note that the right to rescind is subject to a statutory limitation period: if the law or the parties agree on a period for exercising the right, the right is extinguished upon expiration of that period; if no period is agreed, the right must be exercised within one year from the date the party knew or should have known of the grounds for rescission, otherwise the right is extinguished. Additionally, if the breach is minor and does not affect the realization of the contract's purpose, the court may not support the rescission request and may instead support continued performance.
Legal Consequences: Return of Property and Compensation for Losses
After the contract is terminated, obligations that have not yet been performed shall cease to be performed; for those that have been performed, the parties may request restoration to the original state or take other remedial measures based on the circumstances of performance and the nature of the contract. Specifically, the seller must return the received purchase price and interest, and the buyer must return the property; if losses are incurred, the breaching party must compensate for direct losses and foreseeable loss of benefits, such as losses from property price increases. If both parties are at fault, liability shall be apportioned according to the degree of fault. Note that if the party entitled to rescission causes the losses to expand due to its own reasons, it may not claim compensation for the expanded portion.