Neither mortgage service fee nor lawyer's fee should be mandatory.
Ye, a lawyer of Guangdong Mingdian Law Firm, said that if the sales department of commercial housing requires consumers to pay the mortgage service fee, consumers have the right to know the service content of this fee. "If the developer imposes charges, it is definitely not in compliance with the regulations, and consumers have the right to refuse to pay. If the developer refuses to perform the contract and terminates the contract on this ground, the responsibility should be on the developer, not the consumer.
In terms of legal fees, at present, large-scale real estate projects in many areas in China will arrange law firms to provide legal services at home, but legal fees are not mandatory. Ye said that the lawyer's fee is the entrusted service fee based on the voluntary agreement between consumers and law firms, and lawyers provide consumers with services such as signing and explaining the purchase contract. "Attorney fees must be filed with the Housing and Construction Bureau and can only be collected if they meet the price charging standards."
Ye suggested that consumers must keep the evidence. He said that if the evidence is sufficient, the failure to sign the contract is due to the failure to pay two mandatory fees, and the responsibility for breach of contract should be on the developer, not the consumer.