Delayed apartment handover, suspected of stopping construction
In a letter to VTC News , many people who bought apartments in the Ruby Ha Long commercial and service hotel apartment complex project at KS2 land lot, Cao Xanh - Ha Khanh A urban area, Cao Xanh ward (Ha Long, Quang Ninh) informed: The project is invested by Dai Duong Ecological Investment Joint Stock Company.
According to the investor's commitment and the approved progress of the project, the apartments will be handed over to residents in the second quarter of 2023. However, not only has the promise not been fulfilled, but the investor has also shown signs of stopping the project's construction since January 2023. Up to now, according to observations, the project has not shown any signs of resuming construction.
Buyers are upset when the investor of The Ruby Ha Long project is slow to hand over apartments.
By March 2023, some homeowners received an email notification from the investor with the content of postponing the apartment handover time to the first quarter of 2024.
“We have protested this to the investor, but the matter has not been resolved clearly, transparently or with any specific commitment. After sending many feedbacks by email and direct written documents, we have not received any satisfactory response,” the petition of the households stated.
According to the buyer, in the sales contract and the three-party agreements, some unusual contents showed signs of violating the State's law. For example, the investor and the bank asked the customer to sign an agreement to collect the loan amount of up to 95% of the apartment value when the project had not been handed over for use. In particular, the investor only issued an invoice to the customer for 70% of the apartment value and the remaining amount was only a receipt.
The two high-rise buildings of The Ruby Ha Long project are quiet, with no signs of construction.
In particular, the investor stopped construction and delayed the handover of apartments without any valid reason, despite having mobilized capital from banks and customers. In addition, the investor also did not provide project information to buyers.
“We have the right to access project information including progress, cash flow usage and on-site inspection of the project. However, the investor has not fulfilled all three rights,” the representative of the households petitioned.
Another issue that makes apartment owners worried and uneasy is that up to now, although the handover deadline has passed as committed, apartment owners have not yet received any bank guarantee letters from the investor.
Giving more detailed information to VTC News reporter, Mr. Pham Khac Hoa (in Hai Phong) said that in 2021, he signed a contract with Dai Duong Ecological Investment Joint Stock Company to buy an apartment at The Ruby Ha Long building. “ After signing the contract, we fulfilled our commitment, transferring money every month according to regulations. For more than the first year, Dai Duong Company constructed the project on schedule, and topped it out on schedule.
However, 7 months ago, after the roof was completed, the company stopped construction. According to the contract, the company had to hand over the apartment to us in June 2023, but until now the project has not been completed, so the apartment cannot be delivered on schedule. Thus, the company has violated the contract , "Mr. Hoa said indignantly.
Ms. Mai Hong (apartment buyer of the project) also shared: “ The investor's construction progress was very fast at first, from last year the roof was completed ahead of schedule, so we were very excited. But from January 2023 until now, the project has almost stopped construction, occasionally a few workers come to work. According to our observations, from last year to this year it is still the same, nothing has changed.
According to the sales contract, the deadline for handing over the house is June, but until now, the investor has only sent an email to delay the handover date. We are very anxious and worried about how long this project will last. Also according to the contract, if the handover is delayed for more than 90 days, the investor must compensate us 0.05% of the value of the amount we have paid.
Furthermore, according to the sales contract, our cash payment of 25% plus the bank loan of 70%, totaling 95%. Thus, the investor violated the law on real estate business and trading, and collected 95% from us before handing over the house .
What do investors say?
Responding to VTC News reporters to clarify the content of the complaint letter from apartment buyers, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Binh, Director of Business Division of Ocean Ecological Investment Joint Stock Company, affirmed that up to now, the project is still under construction, although not as bustling as before. The project has 5 large contractors and small contractors, because the contractors have not arranged reasonable human and material resources for construction, there were times of interruption. "Currently, they are still constructing normally," Ms. Binh said.
Explaining the main reason for the delay in handing over the project to customers, the investor representative said that it was due to the consequences of COVID-19 affecting the economy, businesses as well as the transportation of materials and goods for construction.
But when asked when the investor will hand over the apartments to the residents, this representative did not make any specific promises but said that the company will ensure quality according to State regulations and strive to bring the project to completion.
Ms. Binh also argued that it was not true that some customers reported that the investor did not clearly answer the reason for the delay in handing over the house. "At least twice, the company's management sent representatives to meet with the people to answer the reasons for not handing over the apartment and other questions," Ms. Thanh Binh informed.
Regarding the suspicion that the money customers paid to buy apartments is being used by the investor for the wrong purpose, the investor's representative affirmed that the money is still in the apartments under construction, and the investor even had to borrow more to complete the construction because the customers did not pay the full amount the company invested.
This person also confirmed that he had issued a VAT invoice for 70% of the amount according to the sales contract, the remaining 25% was a bank loan so he could not issue an invoice.
The investor confirmed that the project is still under construction, although not as vigorously as before.
Regarding the apartment owners' reflection on the bank's project guarantee letter, the investor's representative confirmed that there was a bank guarantee letter for the entire project. With the guarantee letter, the investor would have a license to sell apartments issued by the Department of Industry and Trade of Quang Ninh province. And to have the guarantee letter, the investor had to pay a certain amount of money to the bank (guarantee fee).
Also according to the investor's representative, if the apartment owner wants a letter of guarantee from the bank, the apartment owner must request it from the investor and must pay an amount of money according to the bank's regulations so that the bank can issue a letter of guarantee to the apartment owner and must request it right from the time of signing the apartment purchase contract, but now it is no longer possible to buy.
"Currently, no customer has requested the investor to send information to the bank to issue a letter of guarantee," the investor representative confirmed.
Nearly 5 months after the house handover as committed, the project is still under construction, making people uneasy.
The investor may have to pay compensation.
Analyzing from a legal perspective the current situation at The Ruby Ha Long project, Lawyer Nguyen Minh Long - Director of Dragon Law Firm (Hanoi Bar Association) said: In this case, if the investor signs a guarantee contract with a commercial bank in accordance with regulations, it will be necessary to consider the sales contract between the parties to determine how the house handover period is stipulated.
Whether the delay in house delivery can be extended and the extension period will be specifically stated in the contract.
If the deadline has expired and the maximum time has been extended but the house is still not handed over, the investor will be penalized for breach of contract, and may have to compensate the buyer, unless the investor can prove that the delay was due to objective reasons as a basis for handling.
In case the investor has violations in project application, project implementation, signing of guarantee contracts that do not comply with the provisions of law, and from the time the project begins implementation, does not carry out any project implementation but still uses this as a reason to appropriate money from buyers, it can be considered for the crime of fraud and appropriation of property.
" So it will depend on the sales contract that the parties have signed, the status of the project (whether it is actually under construction or not) to consider the form of handling for the specific case ," said Mr. Long.
The Ruby Ha Long apartment, commercial hotel and service project invested by Dai Duong Ecological Investment Joint Stock Company, covering an area of 8,500m2, started construction in the third quarter of 2021. The investor committed to handing over to apartment owners in the second quarter of 2023. The project has more than 1,000 apartments, ranging in size from 30 - 100m2.
MINH KHANG
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