What to Do If You Buy a Stigmatized Property: A Few Examples of Cases Judged by Chinese Courts

Many people who buy second-hand homes fear most buying a stigmatized property—that is, a house where a suicide or murder has taken place.

Is there a legal provision for this situation? Currently, mainland China has no specific law requiring sellers to inform buyers that someone has died in the house. However, in recent years, some courts, when judging cases, have treated this as important information affecting the buyer's decision: if the seller knew but deliberately did not disclose it, it amounts to concealment, i.e., fraud. Article 148 of the Civil Code stipulates that where one party uses fraudulent means to cause the other party to conclude a contract against their true intention, the defrauded party has the right to request the court to rescind the contract. Some buyers have recovered their money based on this provision.

Some courts believe that different situations should be considered separately, such as how many years ago the death occurred, whether it was a natural death, whether it happened inside the house, and whether the property has changed hands many times. An elderly person passing away at home from illness is generally not considered a stigmatized property; suicide and homicide generally are.

Taiwan's approach is somewhat different. The competent authorities there stipulate that when selling a house, the seller must state whether a murder or suicide resulting in death has ever occurred in the house; this clause is written into the contract for the sale of existing homes.

Therefore, when buying a second-hand home, experienced people will add a clause in the contract requiring the seller to confirm that no unnatural death has occurred in the house, and will also ask long-time neighbors in the community and the property management. Whether it is actually haunted is another matter, but many people buying a home care about peace of mind.

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