In recent years, quality issues such as water leakage and falling exterior walls have been discovered in newly delivered properties in various parts of China, leaving homeowners with no choice but to embark on the path of safeguarding their rights. Many property developments in China have fallen into a “curse” where owners begin seeking legal recourse as soon as the properties are handed over.
House developers in China have always boasted about the “perfect delivery” of commercial properties, but the reality often contradicts this promise of perfection.
According to a report by “Yicai”, from first-tier cities to third and fourth-tier cities, some properties that have been delivered for one or two years are gradually revealing quality issues. Problems such as bulging exterior walls, inadequate soundproofing, numerous flaws in interior decoration, frequent water leakage, and even some new properties exhibiting quality issues during the pre-delivery phase.
Shanghai Zheng Rong Yue Long Mansion was once a popular new development in the area. After its delivery at the end of June 2023, homeowners discovered problems. A resident of the development, Liu Ying (pseudonym), revealed, “With the help of a professional house inspector, we identified many issues such as wide gaps in doors, misalignment of tiles, among others. Since these issues did not significantly impact our living conditions, the developer did not address them, and we did not pursue the matter. However, after moving in, a series of issues began to surface.”
Liu Ying explained that the kitchen exhaust hood would still have grease and smoke lingering in the kitchen long after use. Upon examining the ceiling, they found that the “exhaust pipe was just placed above the ceiling, although there were holes on the wall, the pipe did not extend outside.” Additionally, “similar problems existed in the bathroom, as if it were a rushed job with workers skipping proper installations; the corresponding pipes were missing.”
Issues such as no gas outlet in the kitchen, lack of provision for air conditioner openings, blocked drainage pipes on the roof, leading to water accumulation after rainfall, and water leakage near air conditioning holes in bedrooms resulting in wall damage are prevalent in many homeowners’ properties. Within less than a year after delivery, over ninety households experienced water leakage and mold growth on their walls.
According to a report released by the China Real Estate Research Institute, the “2025 China Urban Resident Housing Satisfaction Survey Report” showed a housing satisfaction score of 71.4 in 2025, a decrease of 0.2 points compared to 2024. Among the various satisfaction ratings, the satisfaction score for delivery services in 2025 was only 64.8, with noticeable quality issues in the product category. Ratings for housing quality, public area quality, and rectification and maintenance indicators all declined, with housing quality dropping from 65.3 in 2024 to 64.5, and rectification and maintenance score decreasing from 56.6 to 55.8.
Reports suggest that behind the quality issues in delivered properties lies problems in various stages ranging from planning, construction, management, to sales: subcontracting in construction makes quality control difficult, tight corporate financial constraints lead to material reduction, and uncertainty in residential construction heavily relying on manual labor. Enterprises involved in similar problematic developments include top real estate companies, private developers, large state-owned enterprises, and government-owned enterprises. These companies often face challenges of financial strain, tight schedules, planning and design issues, subcontracted construction, material supply constraints, etc. The concentration of quality issues in properties in recent years is primarily attributed to financial constraints faced by real estate enterprises.
A head of operations in a real estate company disclosed, “Within the industry, some enterprises, due to severe financial constraints, may compromise on material quality to ensure the smooth delivery of projects; high-standard suppliers may be lost due to developer payment delays, leading to a decline in construction stability.” The unspoken rule of “cutting costs whenever possible” has essentially become a norm in the industry, continuously amplifying quality risks.
Chen Yiming, President of the China Real Estate Association, stated that despite the industry repeatedly emphasizing the need to eliminate common quality issues over the years, the reality is that the problems persist, and the “incidence rate” remains very high even today.