With the development of the economy and society, people's demands for the comfort and quality of their homes are increasing, making home decoration a major household consumption item. At the same time, due to the uneven levels and qualifications of home decoration companies, decoration disputes are increasing. A set of figures recently released by the Haidian District People's Court of Beijing shows that in the first quarter of this year alone, the court accepted 51 cases of decoration contract disputes, a 132% increase year-on-year.

 

The sharp increase in decoration contract disputes exposes a series of common problems currently prevalent in the home decoration market, including unclearly defined project scope, frequent quality problems, difficulty in defending rights with oral contracts, and weak awareness of evidence among parties involved. The reasons behind this include a mixed group of contractors, poor management, immature attitudes among homeowners often leading to a huge gap between psychological expectations and actual results, and a serious lack of contractual awareness among both parties involved in the decoration process. These factors have become obstacles hindering the healthy development of the decoration industry.

 

Dispute Reason 1: Failure to Sign a Written Contract

 

Mr. and Mrs. Zhang, residents of Haidian District, purchased a new house and immediately started renovations. Through a friend's introduction, Mr. Zhang met Mr. Tao, a "foreman." Thinking it was a referral from a friend, before the renovation, the two parties only discussed the renovation plan for the house and did not sign a written renovation contract. They orally agreed that the renovation cost would be 30,000 yuan, covering both labor and materials, with Mr. Tao fully responsible for the house renovation. After the agreement, Mr. Tao brought his renovation team to the new house to start construction a few days later, and Mr. Zhang subsequently paid Mr. Tao the 30,000 yuan in project funds.

 

Unexpectedly, when the house was only half-finished, the two parties had a disagreement over the amount of the project funds, and they couldn't reach an agreement repeatedly. Mr. Tao simply led his workers away.

 

However, at the beginning of last year, Mr. Zhang received a summons from the Haidian Court. It turned out that Mr. Tao had sued him, demanding payment of more than 30,000 yuan in overdue project funds. With the house only half-renovated, and now being the defendant, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang were very upset.

 

During the trial, Mr. Zhang told the court: "Our agreed renovation method was all-inclusive, with a total project cost of 30,000 yuan, which I have already paid him, so there is no issue of arrears." Mr. Tao firmly denied that the renovation method was "all-inclusive." Neither party could produce strong evidence. Therefore, the court commissioned a professional appraisal institution to appraise the project cost of the case, and the conclusion showed that the total project cost was 55,000 yuan.

 

After the trial, the court found that Mr. Zhang and Mr. Tao had established a decoration contract relationship through oral means. Although Mr. and Mrs. Zhang claimed that the renovation method was all-inclusive, they did not submit relevant evidence, so the court could not accept their claim. Mr. and Mrs. Zhang should pay the corresponding project funds for the renovation work completed by Mr. Tao. Based on the appraised project cost, after deducting the already paid renovation funds and the value of the unfinished project, the court finally ruled that Mr. and Mrs. Zhang should pay Mr. Tao the overdue project funds and bear the appraisal fees.

 

A reporter from the Legal Daily interviewed several courts in Beijing that had conducted research on such cases and found that in decoration contracts, a certain proportion of contracts are not signed in writing, and "oral contracts" are still very common when hiring individual construction teams for renovation. Even if there is a written contract, the content is relatively simple, and the model text of the home decoration contract is basically not used. Moreover, when adjustments and changes to the renovation plan, such as water and electricity, need to be negotiated during performance, more than half of the cases do not sign a written change agreement, and mostly use handwritten simple settlement forms for settlement. These problems have laid the groundwork for future disputes and the difficulty of resolving disputes through negotiation.

 

Dispute Reason 2: Unclear Definition of Project Scope

 

In the investigation, it was also found that in addition to the "unreliability" of oral contracts, another important factor leading to decoration disputes is the much-criticized "additional items" in decoration. Additional items in decoration inevitably lead to cost overruns. For both homeowners and contractors, if there is no sufficient communication and clear agreement in the early stages, disputes are almost inevitable.

 

Mr. Wang is a homeowner who was once involved in a decoration dispute due to additional items. A few years ago, he signed a decoration contract with a decoration company, agreeing that the company would renovate his house, using an all-inclusive method for labor and materials, with a project cost of 1 million yuan. The contract stipulated that after completion, the homeowner should be notified for acceptance, and then the handover procedures should be handled. However, after the house renovation was completed, Mr. Wang became the defendant.

 

The decoration company sued the court, claiming that after the project acceptance, Mr. Wang repeatedly requested additional items, resulting in increased project costs. Mr. Wang owed the decoration company 795,000 yuan in project funds, so the court was requested to order Mr. Wang to pay the balance and liquidated damages. Mr. Wang did not agree with this, claiming that the project was not completed, nor was it accepted, and there were no additional items. The decoration company only completed more than 700,000 yuan of the project, and he had already paid 736,000 yuan, so there was no issue of project balance.

 

After the trial, the court found that the contract stipulated a 1 million yuan turnkey project, but neither party could provide a specific item quotation with both parties' signatures corresponding to the 1 million yuan, and they could not provide effective evidence regarding the issue of additional or reduced items and the completion of the project. Therefore, in the absence of an agreement between the two parties, the project cost cannot be determined solely based on the contract amount signed by the two parties. In addition, during the construction process, both parties were at the construction site and had the ability to control the project items and corresponding costs. In summary, based on the project cost provided in the appraisal report, the court ruled that Mr. Wang should pay the decoration company 350,000 yuan in project funds.

 

It is understood that in order to avoid disputes caused by additional or reduced items in decoration, the Ministry of Commerce issued the "Home Furnishing Industry Operation Service Standards" in 2013, which clearly stipulates that if there are omissions in the project items, the decoration company should bear the corresponding responsibility. If the project scope is underreported, and the excess exceeds 8% of the contract amount, the excess part should be borne by the decoration company, except for items actively requested by the customer to be added. However, this also requires the homeowner and the contractor to make a clear agreement in the contract.

 

Zhang Huicong, from the Si Ji Qing Court of Haidian Court, told reporters that if the homeowner chooses an all-inclusive renovation method, the specific renovation items corresponding to the all-inclusive price should be clearly stated in the contract. Once the project items agreed in the contract need to be changed during construction, a written change agreement should be jointly signed by both parties. This not only clarifies the project fees after adjustments to additional or reduced items but also helps clarify whether there are any delays in the construction period.

 

Dispute Reason 3: Difficult to Guarantee the Quality of the Renovation Team

 

"The renovation quality is too poor!" Ms. Cheng said angrily when mentioning her renovation, "Not long after we moved in, the floor cracked, and the tiles also cracked. The lights on the ceiling, we didn't turn them on many times throughout the year, and before the Spring Festival, 4 out of 10 lights were broken..."

 

Ms. Wu, who was looking forward to moving into her new house, was also unlucky. Quality problems appeared in her house shortly after the renovation was completed, but the construction team at that time could no longer be contacted. Ms. Wu then discovered that the construction workers who renovated her house were temporarily assembled, and they dispersed immediately after receiving the money, so there was no maintenance guarantee.

 

Renovation quality has been a long-standing contradiction between homeowners and contractors. According to a survey by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, disputes in home decoration contracts mainly focus on renovation quality, project completion settlement, and construction delays, with quality problems being the primary cause of disputes.

 

According to China's "Construction Project Quality Management Regulations," the warranty period for general decoration projects, electrical wiring, drainage pipes, and equipment installation is two years; for heating and cooling systems, it is two heating/cooling seasons; and for roof waterproofing and waterproofed bathrooms, rooms, and exterior walls, it is five years.

 

Regarding the occurrence of quality problems, the Intermediate People's Court's research shows that, on the one hand, it is due to the non-standard management of the decoration contractors. Currently, the construction entities in the decoration market are mixed, with individual construction teams still accounting for about 30% of the market share. Their technical and management levels are significantly different from those of regular decoration companies. However, even among decoration companies, some are small in scale, poorly managed, and have low technical levels. On the other hand, there is also the issue of immature homeowner attitudes.

 

A judge from the Intermediate People's Court introduced that currently, homeowner requirements for decoration have gradually improved from basic reasonable layout and qualified quality to environmental protection standards, aesthetics, comfort, and individuality. However, in most cases, due to a lack of professional technical guidance, homeowners often find it difficult to correctly assess the cost-effectiveness of the decoration budget in relation to the decoration area, materials, quality, and objectives, leading to mentalities such as "seeking cheap deals" and "leaving everything to others." They are easily exploited by the low-price contracting strategies of contractors. Once quality problems arise, their attitude changes from complete trust to nitpicking, making it difficult to resolve conflicts.

 

Countermeasures: Industry Self-Discipline and Homeowner's Balanced Mindset

 

Reporters learned that in home decoration contract disputes, the majority involve contractors demanding payment and liquidated damages. Next are homeowners claiming substandard quality, delays, etc., demanding redecoration, repairs, or compensation for various losses. From the court's handling of the results, due to the often significant factual disputes between homeowners and contractors, and the generally long period of unsuccessful negotiations before litigation, the adversarial emotions are obvious, thus the rate of mediation and withdrawal in decoration disputes is low. In terms of judgment results, contractors' claims for payment are supported in over 80% of cases. When contractors have delays or quality defects, the court will deduct the amount based on the homeowner's defense or counterclaim, but will basically not "pay back money." However, homeowners' claims for demolition and reconstruction, quality issues, rent, and mental distress, which involve high amounts of compensation, are almost never fully supported.

 

So, how can disputes during decoration be avoided? And how can effective rights protection be achieved after a dispute occurs?

 

The court's suggestions are: First, from the market perspective, home decoration companies should strengthen self-discipline and brand awareness. It is understandable to attract customers with decoration packages or price discounts, but there should be a lower limit to low prices. Possible additional items and estimated prices should be disclosed in advance. Companies should not use their professional advantages to deceive homeowners, causing damage to their reputation. At the same time, it is recommended that home decoration companies establish dispute resolution mechanisms. When complaints occur, they should adhere to the principle of "prioritizing homeowner rights," with professional departments or personnel addressing the issues promptly and effectively to prevent further escalation of disputes. If the two parties cannot reach an agreement, they can proactively submit the matter to a third-party dispute resolution institution such as a home decoration industry association or a people's mediation committee for judgment or witnessing before further processing.

 

As for homeowners, they need to adjust their mindset and not only pursue low prices. Relatively speaking, the technical level of construction, engineering requirements, and especially post-warranty service, are often better with decoration companies than with individual contractors who may have slightly lower prices. Secondly, homeowners must not be "afraid of trouble or concerned about face." They must be cautious when signing decoration contracts, ensuring proper communication and supervision to avoid hidden problems. Zhang Huicong also suggested: "During the decoration period, you can hire a construction supervisor, and you should also frequently visit the site to understand the decoration progress and construction quality. Necessary additions or reductions during construction must be documented in a supplementary agreement signed and confirmed by both parties."

 

If a dispute does occur, Shi Huijie, a lawyer from Beijing Baorui Law Firm, reminds both parties to "properly collect and preserve evidence."

 

Shi Huijie said: "Once a decoration dispute occurs, evidence is the core basis for protecting one's own rights. The signed and sealed decoration contract is one of the most important pieces of evidence. In addition, supplementary decoration agreements or other contract-related attachments, such as budget quotations, complete sets of decoration design drawings, on-site videos and pictures, and communication records, should all be preserved as evidence." (Source: Legal Daily)