Daxiong took a fancy to a house property and signed a letter of intent with the sellers Pang Hu and Jingxiang on June 17, stipulating that the total house price was 4.5 million yuan.
In order to show the sincerity of buying a house, Daxiong paid a deposit of 1.5 million yuan to Pang Hu and Jingxiang; Both parties signed the house transfer contract on June 30th; If the seller fails to sign the house transfer contract as agreed, double the deposit will be returned; If the buyer fails to sign the house transfer contract as agreed, he has no right to demand the return of the deposit.
On the day of signing the letter of intent, Daxiong paid a deposit of 6.5438+0.5 million yuan. The next day, when Daxiong came to the house he wanted to buy, he suddenly found a flaw in the house: there was water seepage. So I sent short messages to Pang Hu and Jingxiang: Only by solving the water leakage problem first will they be willing to sign a formal house transfer contract.
In late June, the weather was terrible. Because it was the rainy season, the construction could not be carried out normally, which led to the maintenance of the house not being completed until mid-July, which had already exceeded the agreed time, and the house sales contract was not signed in the end.
Later, Daxiong asked Pang Hu and Jingxiang to return the deposit of 6.5438+0.5 million yuan, but Pang Hu thought it was not his fault that the business failed and refused to return it. The negotiation was fruitless, and Daxiong took the two to court.
test result
In court, Pang Hu and Jingxiang argued that there was no serious water leakage in the house, and Daxiong's clear refusal to fulfill the letter of intent constituted a breach of contract and he had no right to demand the return of the deposit.
The court held that due to water seepage in the house, both parties failed to sign a formal house transfer contract within the agreed time limit. Before the two sides signed the letter of intent for the sale of the house, Daxiong did not know that there was water seepage in the house.
As it is in the rainy season, the maintenance of the house has not been completed until the final signing date agreed in the letter of intent for the sale of the house, and this responsibility cannot be attributed to the plaintiff. Therefore, Daxiong asked the other party to refund the deposit of 6.5438+0.5 million yuan, which is well-founded in the law. Therefore, Pang Hu and Jingxiang were sentenced to return the deposit of 6,543,800 yuan+0.5 million yuan.
Judgment basis
The housing quality problem is the main reason why both parties failed to sign this contract.
During the trial, the plaintiff Daxiong failed to provide evidence to prove that the defendant deliberately concealed the fact that the house involved had quality problems. At the same time, the defendants Pang Hu and Jing Xiang failed to prove that the plaintiff signed a letter of intent with the house knowing that there were defects in the house.
Because there are quality problems in the house referred to in the appointment contract, which cannot be eliminated within the agreed signing period, the failure to conclude the sales contract cannot be attributed to the plaintiff. Therefore, the plaintiff Daxiong's request for the defendant Pang Hu and Jing Xiang to refund the deposit in a single amount should be supported, and both parties did not appeal after receiving the judgment.
Under what circumstances can I get my deposit back?
The deposit is subject to "deposit penalty": the party who pays the deposit fails to perform its obligations and has no right to ask the other party to return the deposit; If the party accepting the deposit fails to perform its obligations, it needs to return the deposit to the other party twice.
For example, the buyer first saw a good house, paid a deposit, and later saw that another house was more suitable and wanted to go back on our word. This situation is only because he doesn't want to buy it for personal reasons, and the deposit is not refundable, which is a unilateral failure to perform his obligations without justifiable reasons.
Then, under what circumstances can I refund the deposit?
Article 4 of the Supreme People's Court's Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Disputes over Commercial Housing Sales Contracts stipulates:
"If the commercial housing sales contract cannot be concluded due to reasons not attributable to both parties, the seller shall return the deposit." This provision mainly includes two points:
★ Neither party has breached the contract, but it is impossible to reach an agreement on the relevant terms through consultation.
Whether the deposit involved can be returned depends on the failure to conclude a formal commercial housing sales contract. The reason why the two parties failed to conclude the contract may be that they failed to reach an agreement on the main terms of the contract, or they failed to reach an agreement on other terms based on their respective interests. The failure of both parties to conclude a contract is not attributable to both parties, and it is not a breach of contract referred to in the appointment contract, and the deposit should be returned.
★ Force majeure and factors other than the will of other parties.
In addition to force majeure, factors other than the will of the parties have also become considerations in the trial of such cases. If the mortgage loan cannot be handled due to changes in national policies, financial policies, internal bank policies, etc., if neither party is at fault, the two parties will not be responsible for each other and the deposit will be refunded.
In short, buying a house is a big deal. You should think it over before deciding whether to pay the deposit. There is no reason to return the deposit. If the deposit can be refunded under the above circumstances, you can claim it back from the seller.
Buying and selling are risky. For example, in the case, the buyer and the seller have a deposit dispute because of the defects in the house. If it is represented by a formal intermediary, it will save a lot of worry and avoid unnecessary risks.