The city’s Consumer Council said that it had recently retrieved MOP1.2 million (US$150,000) for residents purchasing property in Mainland China, claiming its co-operation scheme with the Mainland consumer authorities was effective although it cannot supervise cross-border property purchases. In a reply to legislator Si Ka Lon’s written interpellation on cross-border property purchase, the president of the Council, Wong Hon Neng, said that the MOP1.2 million it had retrieved represented losses in two cases involving local residents buying homes in Zhuhai yet encountering disputes with the developers. It noted that the losses of the residents being chased back is attributable to its co-operation with the consumer association in Hengqin New Area. According to the council president, residents who have complaints against property markets or encounter disputes outside the territory will be transferred by the local Council to other foreign consumer associations, based on co-operation agreements that the local government had reached with these associations. “We believe that Macau residents can still access support and assistance when they encounter problems or disputes like purchasing real estate on the Mainland, as long as the co-operation scheme between the local government and the Mainland authorities keeps improving,” Mr. Wong remarked. In the legislator’s enquiry, he actually complained that the government’s lack of supervision makes cross-border real estate purchase risky for local residents, querying whether the government has effective measures to combat, and follow up on the issues. “The government did not conduct any clear administrative supervision of local realtors selling uncompleted residential units that without pre-sales permits on the Mainland brings high risks for residents who are planning to make cross-border property purchases,” Mr. Si wrote. Nevertheless, the Consumer Council president responded that the local government has no right to supervise the non-local property market. “The Housing Bureau’s information shows that the property market of every country and region is regulated by their own law. Hence, before reaching a co-operation network with the countries or regions, it is hard for the Bureau to supervise other regions’ property regulations,” Mr. Wong wrote. According to the legislator, his Office had received complaints from dozens of residents who claimed that the uncompleted units they had purchased on the Mainland failed to be completed as stated in their purchase contracts with the developers. He claimed that some of these residents are worried that they will face serious losses.
—
