While dealing with owners and property is a daily day of life in the community, many people who are faced with the vagueness of property fees and services tend to feel “justified” and can only compromise quietly. In fact, the services and fees of the property are regulated by clear regulations, so that the three core issues are seized, the property can be held to its own detriment, and its work can be directly compromised and its legitimate interests safeguarded. Today, these three questions are put out in plain language, and once again the rights-based approach is put to the question so that the owners and the property will never lose again。
I. Why do these three questions “doesn’t go far enough” for the industry
The core responsibility of the property industry is to provide services to the owners, with revenues derived mainly from property fees and communal revenues in the sub-regions, which point to compliance, transparency and the boundaries of responsibility in the work of the property, which is also the most vulnerable part of the property。
At the regulatory level, the civil code of the property regulations defines the right of owners to know, to supervise, and the service obligations and financial disclosure requirements of the property. In practice, however, a number of properties are deliberately avoiding these core issues for reasons of economy or profit, and once the owner has taken the initiative to ask, the property either does not have a basis for compliance or does not have an explanation for the omission, it is natural that it is “negative”。
For the owners, these three problems are not deliberate, but are a key way of exercising their legitimate rights and can directly identify the bottom lines of property work and avoid infringement of their rights and interests。
First question: “what are the public revenues in the sub-region? Where did this money go?"
Public revenues in the small areas are the most easily neglected interests of owners and the least willing to be mentioned by the property industry. Public revenues include elevator advertising, district gate advertising, rental of public spaces, express containers, etc., which are owned by all owners, property is managed on their own behalf and must be advertised on a regular basis and earmarked。
Key logic behind questions
1. There are clear rules on attribution of proceeds: according to article 282 of the civil code, income generated by the use of the joint share of the owner, such as construction units, property service enterprises or other administrators, is owned by the owner after deduction of reasonable costs. Property has no right to private appropriation or misappropriation。
Publicity is a statutory obligation: the property regulations require the property to disclose periodically to the owner the receipt and expenditure of public revenues, usually quarterly or semi-annually, in terms of income items, amounts and expenses。
It is common for property to be gruesome: some properties hide public revenue items or simply say “revenue but for small area maintenance” without providing specific instruments; others directly offset their own operating costs without informing the owner。
Points for rights protection after questioning
If the property fails to provide a breakdown of the public proceeds or refuses to disclose them, the owner may first inform the owner's board and request disclosure of the property period; if the property fails to cooperate, he may file a complaint with the local building department or the street, and the relevant authority may order the property to be converted and publicized; and in the case of an appropriation of public proceeds, the owner may also file a lawsuit for restitution of the property's proceeds。
Second question: “does the rates for property costs be recorded? Does the content of the service match the standards?”
Property fees are the main source of revenue for the property, but many owners know only how to pay the property, but do not know the basis for the fee and what services the property should provide, thus giving the property space for “facing services”。
Key logic behind questions
1. Fees need to be officially recorded: fees for property services are subject to government-directed or market-regulated prices, and in either way, the property needs to be recorded in the local re-establishment and construction sectors, where the rates and service standards are specified in the documentation. There is no recorded fee and the owner has the right to refuse to pay。
2. Matching of service content with fees: the different levels of property fees correspond to different service standards, such as the maintenance frequency corresponding to the level i property fee, the number of security patrols, the facility maintenance cycle, etc. It would be a breach of contract if the property received a first-level fee and provided only a second-level service。
Common catalogs in the property industry: some of the properties raise the standard of property fees without filing; others blur the content of the service when contracting, reducing the number of personnel, maintenance frequency, and disguised “shrimp” services。
Points for rights protection after questioning
Property is required to produce documentation for property fees and standard service rules, and if it is not possible to do so, the owner may refuse to pay for the excess part of the property; if the service is not consistent with the standard, other owners may be asked to collect evidence (e. G. Incomplete photographs, missing security patrol records, etc.) and require property renovations or deductions for property costs; if no consultation is possible, complaints may be made to the price department or the building department。
Third question: “does the maintenance funds in the sub-region have publicity and voting records?”
The special housing maintenance fund, which is an “older's pension” of the owner, is used for communal areas, major repairs, upgrades and modifications of facilities, such as elevator replacements, maintenance of outer walls, fire-fighting facilities, etc. The use of this money is subject to strict procedural requirements and the property is not subject to unauthorized control。
Key logic behind questions
1. The use of the fund is subject to a vote by the owner: under the act on the management of funds for special residential maintenance, the use of the fund is subject to the consent of the owner, who owns more than two thirds of the building and more than two thirds of the building, and the property is solely responsible for making applications for use and organizing construction。
2. The use of the maintenance fund must be publicized: from the request to the completion of its use, every step must be communicated to the owner, including the maintenance project, budget amount, construction unit, cost settlement, etc., under the supervision of the owner。
3. The common pitiful nature of the property industry: some properties bypass the vote of the owner to apply for the maintenance fund without permission; others collude with the construction unit, misrepresent maintenance costs and draw on the maintenance fund。
Points for rights protection after questioning
Property is required to present the owner's voting records, publicity documents and expense notes used by the maintenance fund and, if it is not possible to do so, to account for irregularities in the use process, the owner may file a complaint with the local building department to suspend the use of the maintenance fund and to verify the accounts; the property and construction unit may be held legally liable for the overstatement of costs and recover the funds lost。
V. General skills in communication with the property sector: asking the right questions and defending rights
1. Preservation of evidence of communication: to the extent possible, questions to the property should be in written form (e. G., micro-letters, mail, written correspondence) and to keep records of chats, public photographs, payment vouchers, etc., in order to avoid subsequent denial of evidence。
2. Union of other owners: individual owners have limited power to join other owners of the sub-districts in bringing their claims to the property, forming collective supervision and making it more difficult for the property to reproduce。
3. Access to official channels: if the property does not cooperate, do not clash positively with the property and complain directly to the local housing sector, neighbourhood offices, consumer associations, etc., which have enforcement and regulatory powers to address the problem more efficiently。
4. Establishment of a proprietors ' committee: the proprietors ' committee is an organization that represents the interests of the proprietors and is able to supervise the work of the property in accordance with the law, enter into contracts for property services, audit the use of public revenue and maintenance funds, and is an important source of ownership。
Owners stop being “passive: active supervision is the key to safeguarding interests
Many owners feel that “it is too much trouble with the property”, but the quality of their physical services has a direct impact on the housing experience and property value of the small areas. By asking these three questions, not only can the industry regulate services, but it can also make its money clear。
In 2026, property services were increasingly regulated and the rights of owners to information and supervision were more strongly guaranteed. As owners of the sub-regions, owners do not have to tolerate the irrational behaviour of the property, but are able to put it back on track by law and by addressing key issues。
Harmonious community relations, of course, require mutual understanding between property and owners, good service obligations of the property, and timely payment of reasonable fees by owners in order to make the community more comfortable. However, if the property is perfunctory and infringes upon the interests of the owners, the owners must take up legal weapons to defend their interests。
