[2] How to Urge Property Fee Payment? Cutting Off Water and Electricity Is Not Allowed

[4] Compiled from: Fangshan Court
 
[5] Before the enactment of the Civil Code, the law did not prohibit property management companies from using methods such as cutting off electricity, water, heating, or gas to urge property fee payments. Therefore, many property management companies adopted these methods to urge owners to pay fees, and some even directly stipulated in property service contracts that they had the right to cut off water and electricity to urge payment. The enactment of the Civil Code directly prohibited such actions.

 
 

Case review
A training school signed a "Property Service Contract" with the property management company of its residential community, but the two parties did not specify the payment date and method in the contract.
 
Thereafter, a dispute arose between the two parties over the payment date of the property fees, and the property management company cut off the water and electricity supply to the training school.
The training school filed a lawsuit demanding compensation for economic losses from the property management company.
 
The court held that the property management company's act of cutting off water and electricity to collect property fees caused losses to the training school, and ultimately ordered the property management company to pay 1,000 yuan in compensation.

 
 

 
《 Civil Code of the People's Republic of China 》
Article 944: Owners shall pay property fees to the property service provider in accordance with the agreement. If the property service provider has provided services in accordance with the agreement and relevant regulations, the owner shall not refuse to pay property fees on the grounds that they have not accepted or do not need to accept the relevant property services.
 
If an owner violates the agreement and fails to pay property fees beyond the due date, the property service provider may urge them to pay within a reasonable period; if the owner still fails to pay after the reasonable period expires, the property service provider may file a lawsuit or apply for arbitration.
 
Property service providers shall not resort to cutting off electricity, water, heating, or gas supply to coerce payment of property management fees.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
1. Owners must actively fulfill their obligation to pay property management fees.
If the property service provider has rendered services in accordance with the agreement and relevant regulations, the owner shall not refuse to pay property management fees on the grounds of not having received or not needing the relevant property services.
 
2. Property management companies must adopt reasonable methods for collecting property management fees.
If an owner fails to pay property management fees on time in breach of the agreement, the property service provider may demand payment within a reasonable period; if the owner still fails to pay after the reasonable period expires, the property service provider may file a lawsuit or apply for arbitration.
A reasonable method for property management companies to collect property management fees is "demand notice plus filing a lawsuit or applying for arbitration."
 
3. Property management companies are prohibited from using illegal methods to collect property fees.
Property service providers shall not resort to cutting off electricity, water, heating, or gas supply to coerce payment of property management fees.
This is because only a property service contract exists between the property management company and the owners. The property management company usually collects water, electricity, and heating fees on behalf of others, but this does not mean it has the right to supply water, electricity, or heating. Therefore, the property management company has no right to cut off water, electricity, or heating to demand property fee payments from owners.
 
4. If the property management company uses illegal methods such as cutting off electricity, water, heating, or gas when collecting property fees, causing losses to the owners, the owners can, based on corresponding evidence, claim that the property management company bears corresponding liability for breach of contract or tort.