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The Construction Industry
The practices to be corrected in the construction industry are as follows:
- The advertising of pre-sold housing units, especially in the indication of size or presentation such as, "actual size of unit," "size of public facilities" and "size of interior".
These practices are prevalent in the industry and in order to mainain trade order, to preserve consumer interest and to promote transaparency of information relating to market transactions, the Fair Trade Commission, in its capacity of providing administrative guidance, established this business correction progam. The Commission has issued notices to businesses to correct their practices by November 1, 1994. Any mispresentation of advertising occuring after this date shall be punished according to Article 41 of the Fair Trade Act. - The change of lay-out of remaining pre-sold housing units in order to increase the number of units for sale.
This practice is also prevalent in the construction sector. The Fair Trade Commission, in its capacity of providing administrative guidance, established this business correction program. Cases will be placed on hold during this correction campaing. Any businesses involved in such or similar cases after January 1, 1995 will be punished according to Article 41 of the Fair Trade Act. - Failure to indicate the property transfer date in the real estate sales contract.
The Commission has invited the relevant trade associations for consultations. A decision was made during the 201st Commissioners Meeting that effective October 1, 1995, constructors / builders are to specify within the contract the quarter or the date of property transfer. The failure to comply will be violating Article 24 of the Fair Trade Act. - Real estate brokers* failure to identify themselves as a "franchise", when applicable, leading consumers to believe they are dealing with direct sales.
Effective December 31, 1995, real estate brokers are to specify and include, when applicable, on advertising, billboards, name cards and so forth that they are "franchises". This will allow consumers to clearly identify the provider of the services. However, it is up to the brokerage on the style of specification. - Failure to specify the size or proportional allocation from each housing unit for public facilities.
The Fair Trade Commission invited representatives from the relevant government agencies and organizations for consultations. The Commission made a decision at the 216th Commissioners* Meeting to include the following items in the contract: - specifiy items to be classified as public facilities;
- specify the calculation method used in the proportional allocation of public facility areas;
- the percentage of public facility areas shared by each owner should be clearly listed. Businesses will decided on how this make this information publicly accessible, i.e. public display, direct distribution or as handouts;
- dead line for correction is the end of January 1996;
- subject to the principle of non-retroactive, contracts signed before the establishment of this business correction program will not be regulated. The revised items will be effective February 1, 1996 and failure to comply will be punished according to Article 24 of the Fair Trade Act.