The Department of Consumer Protection of the Executive Yuan (hereinafter referred to as the DCP), the Department of Land Administration of the Ministry of the Interior, and the Land Administration Bureau (Department) under each special municipality and county (city) conducted the 2023 Review of Standard Contracts for Pre-Sales Housing from September to December 2023 in order to understand the compliance situation of "Mandatory and Prohibitory Provisions of Standard Contracts for Pre-Sales Housing" among construction companies.

The DCP carried out an inspection on the contracts for pre-sales housing of 50 construction projects throughout the nation, 15 items for each such project, including land location and parking space specifications, total contract price, and acceptance. Of the 750 items checked, 22 items failed to meet certain requirements. The overall rate of noncompliance was 2.9%, the content of which was distributed across 13 projects. The DCP then asked the Land Administration Bureau (Department) of each special municipality and county (city) under the jurisdiction of the Department of Land Administration of the Ministry of the Interior to take actions against construction companies whose contract content did not comply with regulations in accordance with the provisions of Article 81-2, Paragraph 5 of the Equalization of Land Rights Act. A total of NT$1.2 million in penalties was imposed.

Among the inspection items, the number and major types of the more severe violations are as follows:

I.A total of 4 construction projects failed to meet the requirements of "land location and parking space specifications".

(I)Failed to specify basic information such as the "nature", "location" and "type" of the parking spaces.

(II)Failed to specify the "height" of the parking spaces.

II.A total of 4 construction projects failed to meet the requirements of "total contract price."

(I)The contract only provided the "total contract price" and did not separately list the "land price" and "housing price (the proprietary portion price and the shared portion price must be separately listed)".

(II)Incorrectly entered the "content" of the price; the sum of the various prices was inconsistent with the total contract price.

III.A total of 3 construction projects failed to meet the requirements of "reviewing period."

(I)The reviewing period was less than 5 days.

(II)Review period was judged as unreasonable based on the "start date of contract review", "signing date," and "payment of signing fees date."

IV.A total of 3 construction projects failed to meet the requirements of "acceptance".

(I)The amount of the deposit reserved for housing transfer was less than 5% of the total price of the housing.

(II)Construction companies set their own "acceptance standards" in the contract and considered some defects as compliant; or limited the defects to a certain extent before there was an obligation for repair.

The DCP calls on construction companies to draft contract terms in accordance with the provisions of "Mandatory and Prohibitory Provisions of Standard Contracts for Pre-Sales Housing." Construction companies shall not affect consumers' judgment by deliberately concealing important information, the DCP also says. Also, construction companies may not use the "freedom of contract" to add contract terms that are not included in the "Mandatory and Prohibitory Provisions of Standard Contracts for Pre-Sales Housing" and that are not beneficial to consumers.

The DCP reminds consumers that in accordance with the provisions of Article 47-4, Paragraph 1 of the Equalization of Land Rights Act, unless there are legal circumstances, the sales contract cannot be transferred by reselling to a third party after the contract has been signed. Please carefully evaluate your own ability and requirements before signing. It is also recommended, to protect your own rights and interests, that you take the following steps before signing a contract:

I.Go to the Actual Price Registration Website to confirm the status of the construction contract.

II.Check each contract term one by one to see if it complies with regulations in "Mandatory and Prohibitory Provisions of Standard Contracts for Pre-Sales Housing."

III.If the contract terms of a construction project fail to meet the requirements, consumers may refuse to sign the contract. Consumers may also report the issue to the competent authority.