39,000 Yuan Subsidized Housing Sale Upheld: Court Rules Undeveloped Land Transfer Does Not Invalidate Purchase Agreement

A buyer who purchased a subsidized apartment for 39,000 yuan in 2002 won an appellate ruling requiring the seller to cooperate with property title transfer, as the court rejected the seller’s claim that the undeveloped land designation made the sale invalid.

In August 2002, the parties signed a housing purchase agreement for a 59.09-square-meter apartment at a price of 39,000 yuan. The buyer paid the full amount, and the seller delivered the keys along with all three property certificates, including the land use certificate, building ownership certificate, and tax receipt. However, the parties never completed the formal title transfer registration.

The apartment was originally a subsidized housing unit that the seller had purchased from the hospital where he worked at the 95-percent cost price in 1997, with all certificates properly issued. When the buyer eventually requested the seller’s cooperation for title transfer, the seller refused, arguing that the sale was invalid because the property sat on allocated land that required government approval before transfer.

At trial, the court ruled the purchase agreement was valid and ordered the seller to assist with title transfer within ten days. The seller appealed, citing the urban real estate administration law requiring government approval for transferring property on allocated land, and argued the court’s judgment improperly substituted judicial authority for administrative approval authority.

The appellate court affirmed the trial judgment, finding the seller’s interpretation of the law incorrect. The relevant statute governs the procedural requirements for land-use conversion during the transfer registration process, not the validity of the underlying purchase agreement. Since the property held a valid state-owned land use certificate, it was legally transferable. The court emphasized that failure to complete property registration does not invalidate a validly executed contract, and the buyer, having paid in full and received possession, was entitled to title transfer cooperation. The 80 yuan appeal fee was charged to the seller.