After waiting for 2 years past when we were told our apartment would be finished, my family and I were finally able to move into our new apartment in Tamsui. The property management has been a problem from the start, saying that they would fix things, not showing up, and when they eventually did, they did a half-assed job of addressing issues while talking down to us the whole time. Now, we have severe cracks forming in our walls. A contractor that we hired to address a different issue noted that it is due to the walls not being put up properly, particularly the dry wall (where they are supposed to leave gaps between pieces for expansion due to heat, humidity, etc, but did not). The contractor said it wasn’t a problem that would make the walls fall down or anything, just unsightly. I’m not sure what to do because the property management was supposed to send someone to address these today, but never showed then called and told us they will need to schedule for another date. The main problems are
1. That they aren’t likely to actually fix the issues with the wall, which would require significant work and possibly taking down pieces of the wall. They’ll likely just put a little patch and paint over it while trying to wait out their one year warranty on apartment repairs.
2. Even if they did decide to properly fix the walls, this would significantly disrupt my family’s life for days.
Are there any repercussions for a property management company like this any way for them to be held accountable?
Do u know anyone who has done that and actually gotten it fixed? Does this look like something be concerned about for safety issues in your experience? Bc getting into a long expensive legal battle with a property management company just sounds… Exhausting
Its your property and its up to you what your happy with, you only have a year warranty you say, so I would want all the snagging done in that time, you cant get fixed what you don’t know is broken.
If they have messed up the dry wall I would be asking my self what else have they just skimmed over (or rushed as you say it’s 2 years behind schedule).
Is it not customary here to get a building survey before you take ownership?
I have always considered it normal practice, but I have never bought a property here.
It’ll need to be taped and reskimmed and then painted again, and likely needs the whole place doing again.
Our current place has been done properly but it still had some minor cracks appear (nothing as bad as this) after a recent earthquake and the decorators were happy enough to come back and do some minor fixes.
Least disruptive fix would be wallpaper. It’s can have its own issues and not to everyone’s taste, or particularly trendy at the moment, but if we did another place I’d go with more wallpaper. Good luck,
I guess I’m just curious if you’ve ever heard of someone being successful in getting a property manager to completely rehaul an apartment by going through court. Bc it seems like they’re just going to delay and bandaid everything until their warranty runs out in February. Already had them come to fix multiple other issues.
For anyone reading this in the future, buy an apartment that has been standing for at least 5 years so that theses issues can have been fleshed out somewhat. Def don’t buy unbuilt apartments in Taiwan. (Def not anything made by COHO in Tamsui)
The only two people I know here who got brand new houses had the property surveyed before signing off on it and both had jobs that needed doing before they would complete.
The whole point of getting an independent survey is so that you have all faults documented before the warranty runs out, then even if they drag their feet you have proof and an official document to back you up.
Was this a full survey, or was it just checking things like electricity and gas insulation was up to safety standard?
I don’t know what you had done but the two I mentioned above (both family members) went for the in-depth one, I think it cost more but also came with a guarantee, (Probable just underwritten by professional liability cover like we have for work).
I didn’t really understand them but they had some pretty graphs for the readings that had taken from the walls and floors.
as for your legal standing I just asked google Ai (remember the pinch of salt)
AI Overview
In Taiwan, if structural defects require a house to be rebuilt, affected owners can pursue legal action through civil litigation for construction defects and damages. Under the Taiwan Civil Code, contractors are held liable for latent defects up to five years after handover, unless they deliberately concealed the flaws, which extends the liability period. [1, 2]
Key Legal and Housing Avenues
Civil Defect Claims: Owners can demand the contractor cover repair or rebuilding costs, reduce the purchase price, or cancel the contract. In severe cases, owners can sue for associated living expenses and mental anguish. [1, 2]
Criminal Liability: If structural defects lead to building collapses, injuries, or fatalities, prosecutors regularly pursue criminal charges against developers and contractors for negligent homicide. [1, 2]
Statute of Limitations: Civil lawsuits regarding construction defects generally must be filed within five years from the handover of the property. [1, 2]
