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August 5, 2014

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Property battle heats up as the end nears

By Wu Huixin | August 5, 2014, Tuesday | Print Edition

A complicated legal battle over the ownership of prime property along West Lake that once belonged to famous educator Cai Yuanpei is nearing an end.

Tens of millions of yuan are at stake as Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court is expected to make a ruling in the case in the next two weeks for the property that some reports value at 100 million yuan (US$16.2 million). The property is highly valued since it remains one of only about 10 along the scenic lake that remains privately owned.

In 2010, Sun Jilin purchased the house from Lin Zhengming, Cai’s grandchild, for 10 million yuan, according to a report. Complicating matters is the fact that most of the house has been knocked down even though it was listed as a protected historical building. It’s unclear who is responsible for the damage.

Qianjiang Evening News reported on July 24 that Sun has put the property up for sale, but Li Shuizhen and her family, who have lived there for more than 20 years, has sued the Hangzhou Housing, Land and Resources Administration, saying they own 20 percent of the property. Li’s claims are based on a 1992 contract, which she showed to Shanghai Daily. The contract shows she purchased a 20 percent share of the house, equating to 53.6 square meters, for 50,000 yuan from Lin Tanwei, who is Lin Zhengming’s sister.

The bureau issued a deed for the property, which is outside the entrance to Hangzhou Botanical Garden, to Lin Zhengming in 2005, which Li doesn’t understand and is contesting in court.

In 2005, Lin Tanwei tried to give her share to Lin Zhengming even though she had already sold it to Li, forcing her to sue. Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court ruled the two siblings conspired maliciously to the detriment of Li. It ruled that Li still owned 20 percent of the property.

“That was ridiculous,” Li told Shanghai Daily. “I had already bought  20 percent shares in the house from Lin Tanwei, but she tried to give her share to her sister Lin Zhengming. Our contract was notarized by government authorities at the time.”

Li and her family are now the only residents on the property as over the years all the Lin family members moved out — even before they sold it to Sun.

Lin’s family has sued Li five times since 2005.

They demanded Li return her 20 percent shares to the family as they considered her contract with Lin Tanwei invalid.

“At first, I didn’t want to get involved in a lawsuit with the Lin family because we were friends, but they went too far,” Li said. “I have to protect my property ownership and they have ruined our close friendship.”

Li and Sun are still awaiting the court’s decision on ownership.

The house dates back to the time of Cai (1868-1940), who was the first minister of education in the Republic of China (1911-1949) and a former president of Peking University. He had the house built for his daughter Cai Weilian and her husband Lin Wenzheng. The house was composed of a bungalow and a connected two-story villa, which covered more than 270 square meters.

In the late 1980s, Lin Wenzheng made a will before dying. He gave his children Lin Qin’ge, Lin Zhengming, Lin Tanwei and Lin Can, along with his grandchild, Jia Pei’an, and equal 20 percent shares of the house. Before 2005, the Lin heirs gave their shares to Lin Zhengming.

At the root of battle is the 2005 Hangzhou Housing, Land and Resources Administration’s decision to give Lin Zhengming the deed even though Li had a contract stipulating she owned 20 percent of the property.

“I don’t know why the Hangzhou Housing, Land and Resources Administration offered the property ownership certificate to Lin Zhengming. It’s hard to believe they didn’t know the house had a more complicated ownership structure,” Li said.

The 2010 sale of the property to Sun remains murky since it’s not known whether he knew of Li’s claims on the property.

Li said she first found out about the 2010 sale from a newspaper article and that Sun didn’t show up until this past April.

Li said Sun has tried to chase them off the property through intimidation.

“On June 7, he and his hired thugs smashed my household appliances, pounded my piano, shattered windows, knocked down the roof and told us to move out as quickly as possible, otherwise, he said, he could not ensure my life safety,” Li claimed.

Shanghai Daily saw the smashed belongings and twisted window frames and doors on the site. Four years ago the home was listed as a municipal historical building, protecting it from demolition.

Xu Huaming, vice director of the Xihu District Public Security Bureau, said they want both sides to resolve the ownership issue as soon as possible.

“The destruction of personal property is banned and we have already warned these guys not to bully Li’s family any more,” Xu said.

The bureau declined to comment on why the thugs were not arrested and charged with any crimes.

Qian Zhixi, a Hangzhou Historical Architecture Protection and Management Center employee, said the ruined part of the house collapsed in the first half of this year because it hadn’t been repaired for so long.

Qian added that one of the owners applied for renovations in 2010, but the ownership battle prevented the center from doing anything.

Meanwhile, Li stressed she is not contesting Sun’s ownership of 80 percent of the property, only the share she bought from Lin Tanwei back in 1992.

“In the last 20 years, I have spent around 500,000 yuan on renovations to my part of the house,” Li said.

Wu Limei, section chief of the Hangzhou Historical Architecture Protection and Management Center, said a privately owned historical building can be sold, but the owner is not allowed to make any structural changes.

Li said wealthy people still enquire about the property since it is so rare.

“Some nouveau riches came to see the house, notwithstanding the sky-high price,” Li said. “I told them to reconsider whether they want to buy it because the ownership issue is complicated and tangled up in lawsuits.”

Hangzhou


 

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