Chapter 541

After hearing a few sentences, Lu Fan roughly understood the whole situation; Tianhui Jiayuan faces the problem of lacking the five certificates, failing to meet handover standards, and over 200 households being unable to move in.

Homeowner representative Li Bing said: "Secretary Lu, Tianhui Jiayuan, under the pretext of lacking funds for certificates, uses various means such as publishing homeowners' names in newspapers and cutting off water and electricity to demand full payment from homeowners. We previously had a reporter write an article titled 'After Spending 1 Million, I Moved Into a Half-Built Building,' but in the end it sank without a trace, ignored!"

Left with no choice, some homeowners paid the full amount and finally got the keys. But those who moved in have a hard time: not only temporary water and electricity, but also no gas or heating, let alone a qualified parking lot or proper entrance; cooking is done with LPG cans.

Homeowner representative Li Yang added: "Secretary Lu, what angers us more is that we clearly paid the initial installation fees for gas and heating, yet when we consulted the gas and heating companies, they replied that the developer never filed for installation. After our persistent negotiations, gas meter installation finally began. But afterward, there has been no sign of the gas being put into use."

Nowadays, we not only quarrel daily over parking spaces, but are also hounded by property management for fees, yet the property fee is as high as 1.38 yuan per square meter; this property management is utterly irregular and has not signed a service contract with us. The buildings have not passed legal acceptance, and the elevators have even suffered falling accidents.

Lu Fan kept writing down the homeowners' feedback problems in his notebook, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

Li Bing continued: "What's even more sad is that, due to lack of funds to pay in full, over 200 homeowners still have houses they cannot live in, homes they cannot return to! Although we have respectively paid 50%, 60%, and 80% of the down payment, we have not processed internal mortgages at Tianhui Jiayuan. Thus, Tianhui Jiayuan has turned on us, demanding not only that we pay the remaining house price plus interest, but also chasing us for two years of property fees and the initial installation fees for heating and gas. Otherwise, our homes are not allowed to be renovated!"

Lu Fan asked: "Which department have you reported the problem to? How did they respond?"

Li Bing replied: "Secretary Lu, they lack the five certificates, fail to meet handover standards, and constantly demand money from homeowners, etc. We have repeatedly posted these situations on the leadership message board of the government website. On June 10, the Nanyuan City Real Estate Service Center responded, according to the 'Regulations on the Administration of Pre-sale of Urban Commercial Housing,' houses without a pre-sale permit are not allowed to be sold, and then there was no further response; the matter was dropped!"

Lu Fan turned to Cheng Haohao and said: "Notify the director of the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau and the head of the Municipal Real Estate Service Center to come here immediately! Notify the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee and the Municipal Public Security Bureau, bring personnel over!" His tone sent chills, and even the homeowners felt the tense atmosphere.

Cheng Haohao knew the secretary was preparing to "launch a massive crackdown," so he hurried off to notify.

Lu Fan pondered; without organizing completion acceptance, the irregular handover for use pointed all problems at the "lack of five certificates."

Li Bing continued: "Secretary Lu, 'no money for certificates' has become the developer's excuse to keep demanding money from homeowners. From down payments, to 60% of the total house price, to the full price, then property fees, etc., in order to move into the longed-for 'home' as soon as possible, we have repeatedly compromised. Since 2021, aside from collecting a 30% down payment, the developer has collected over 100 million yuan in house payments from more than 300 homeowner households; these funds are the rescue money we homeowners have paid to revive Tianhui Jiayuan!"

Li Bing showed Lu Fan a screenshot; after subtracting the 28.3 million yuan of land transfer fees that Tianhui Jiayuan made up, there remains nearly 70 million yuan of funds whose destination is unknown.

Lu Fan considered, then told Cheng Haohao: "Notify the court, Wancheng District, and the developer!"

Cheng Haohao immediately dodged to the side to make a call; he had already confirmed that the secretary was going to launch a major operation today!

Lu Fan continued to inquire with the homeowners about the situation, saying: "At the root, the failure to deliver homes on schedule is due to problems in government supervision; please rest assured, the problem will surely be properly resolved!"

Li Bing said: "Actually, everyone understands that little bit of cat nip; for example, my apartment has already paid 250,000, total price 600,000, nothing more than the current property value being 1 million. Only by paying another several hundred thousand could we possibly satisfy the developer and thus obtain a unit worth 1 million. But once this money goes into the developer's account, it is immediately seized by the enforcement court. If you pay into the developer's private account, it could also be immediately transferred or misused by the developer, even used to repay debts..."

As they were speaking, the director of the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Lu Jing, came trotting over, quickly walking up to Lu Fan and saying cautiously: "Secretary, it's our work that wasn't done well; I will review it with the Municipal Party Committee, apologize to the homeowners, and I will immediately think of a way to resolve this!"

Lu Fan glared fiercely at Lu Jing, then said in a low voice: "If it can be solved, why wasn't it solved earlier?"

Lu Jing hurriedly said: "Secretary, Tianhui Jiayuan has always been handled by the Municipal Real Estate Service Center, but it has never been properly resolved; the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau will immediately take full charge and handle it as soon as possible."

Lu Jing is someone Lu Fan personally promoted; his tenure at the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau hasn't been long, so he surely has no connection to past matters, but we cannot guarantee there will be no future entanglements of interest.

Lu Fan no longer paid him any attention; if it is found that Lu Jing took benefits from the developer in this matter, he would not hesitate to "uphold justice even at the cost of kin."

Soon after, the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Du Wenlong, Municipal Public Security Bureau Chief Kong Yongjie, and Court President Jing Shufei arrived to report for duty, each bringing sufficient personnel, standing by at any moment.

Around 4:40 p. m., the head of the Municipal Real Estate Service Center, Chen Junlong, arrived panting at the letters and visits reception hall, walked up to Lu Fan, head lowered, and said: "Secretary, our work wasn't done well, we've caused trouble for the Municipal Party Committee..."

Lu Fan immediately interrupted, sternly asking: "During work hours, you went out to drink?"

"Secretary… a few investors came… I, I received them briefly at noon…"

"Which investors? What project are they investing in? Where did you drink?"

Facing the secretary's questioning, Chen Junlong broke out in cold sweat, unable to utter a word.

Lu Fan looked at Du Wenlong and said: "Discipline Inspection Committee, verify the facts; do not wrongly accuse cadres, and do not let any 'bad apple' go!"

As his words fell, the developer, Wancheng District Party Committee Secretary Wu Dingzhe, and District Chief Han Xing all arrived; the main parties were now all present.

Lu Fan looked at everyone and said: "Today, the issues with Tianhui Jiayuan must be satisfactorily resolved! I will ask a few questions, Mr. Zhang: Nanyuan has undergone major policy adjustments; you acquired the land for about 200 million, and now this plot's value may have reached 600 million; if all buildings were erected, the value could reach 1 to 1.2 billion. The stalled building occupying a prime urban location already has a market value clearly higher than the contract price at the time for homeowners; this should be why you are unwilling to 'continue fulfilling the contract'! Therefore, you use means such as 'lacking the five certificates, making up supplementary payments for house purchases' to guide customers to withdraw, then resell at high prices—do you know what nature this is?"

This remark made Lu Fan sneer, saying: "Today, we must get to the bottom of why Tianhui Jiayuan lacks the five certificates, see which link went wrong. Homeowners tormented by you to exhaustion, tears they cannot shed—who will compensate for the losses from being deceived and delayed? First question: why wasn't the pre-sale permit obtained?"

Chen Junlong replied, reeking of alcohol: "Secretary, in May 2021, Tianhui Jiayuan made up payment of 28.5 million yuan for land transfer fees; the remaining three commercial-residential buildings have still not paid the land transfer fees, amounting to about 50 million yuan, so the pre-sale permit has not been processed yet."

Chen Junlong, with a hint of alcohol, replied, "Secretary, in May 2021, Tianhui Garden paid an additional 28.5 million yuan in land transfer fees; the remaining three commercial‑residential buildings have still not paid the land transfer fee, about 50 million yuan, so the pre‑sale permit has not been processed yet."

Zhang Cheng stammered: "Secretary Lu, our funds have broken off, causing the project to stall; moreover, most homebuyers' house payments have actually not been fully paid."

Lu Fan continued: "Without a pre-sale permit, you dare to sell houses? Who gave you the gall? Having sold the houses, you now think you sold cheap and want homeowners to return them? Are you planning to refund at the sale price or at today's price? You probably think, 'I have 1.2 billion in assets, I only owe 5 or 6 billion externally; I just need some working capital to revive the project and make a comeback.' Do you think the government can't touch you? If you were arrested, homeowners would panic even more? Who knows who gave you such arrogance? To toy with the people's real interests as a joke—I tell you, your clever scheme has backfired!"

Having said that, Lu Fan turned to Public Security Bureau Chief Kong Yongjie and said coldly: "This is a typical commercial crime, suspected of serious fraud; the Public Security Bureau is responsible for the investigation and shall freeze all assets of Tianhui Jiayuan and related personnel!"

At the order, Kong Yongjie immediately had Zhang Cheng "escorted" out.

At the slightest disagreement, they "take people"; the reception hall fell dead silent.

Lu Fan's resonant, powerful words broke the silence on the scene: "Why has the rectification of Tianhui Jiayuan made no progress? When will homeowners' houses be legally habitable? When will supporting facilities be completed? When will the houses pass qualified, legal acceptance and be handed over to homeowners? When will homeowners unable to make up the full payment be able to move in legally?"

Facing the troubled project, we must achieve safe payment through legal means, including escrow, supervised accounts, bankruptcy reorganization, civil preservation, execution objections, etc.; the Municipal Government will fully take over the project, the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee will immediately intervene, investigate the corruption therein, involving anyone—investigate to the end, prosecute strictly, show no leniency!

Finally, Lu Fan sincerely expressed to the homeowner representatives: "Let's exchange phone numbers so we can communicate directly if any issues arise. Also, please give me some time; within one month I will definitely give everyone a satisfactory explanation!"

Everyone hurriedly said: "Thank you, Secretary Lu; as long as there is hope, we can wait!"

Everyone hurriedly said, "Thank you, Secretary Lu; as long as there is hope, we can wait!"