Clarify floor area discrepancy remedies before signing a new home contract, and preserve photographic evidence of promotional brochures, advertisements, and architectural scale models

Unless the sales contract specifies otherwise, if the registered deed area of a delivered home differs from the contract area by 3% or less, payments are settled on actual area. If the discrepancy exceeds 3%, you are legally entitled to cancel the purchase, and the developer must refund your money with interest within 30 days. Furthermore, specific, concrete promotional promises regarding amenities or specifications within the project development boundary form binding contract terms, even if omitted from the final written contract.

Zero financial outlay. Review the area error terms before signing and photograph marketing scale models, promotional renderings, and sales brochures.

Under the Measures for the Administration of the Sale of Commodity Housing (Ministry of Construction Order No. 88), purchase contracts pricing property by floor area must specify discrepancy settlement terms. Where contracts contain no alternative provisions, statutory defaults apply: 1) For absolute area discrepancies within 3% (inclusive), payments are settled based on actual delivered area. 2) If area discrepancy exceeds 3%, the buyer has the legal right to rescind the contract. Upon rescission, the developer must refund all payments with accrued bank interest within 30 days of notice. If the buyer retains the property: when delivered area exceeds contract area by over 3%, the buyer pays for the initial 3% discrepancy, while area beyond 3% is conveyed free to the buyer with title transferred; when delivered area is less than contract area by over 3%, the developer refunds the shortfall within 3% and refunds double the shortfall exceeding 3%. Regarding advertising promises, Supreme People's Court judicial interpretations establish that while general sales advertisements constitute invitations to offer, specific and definite descriptions or commitments made by developers regarding housing specifications or community amenities within the project planning scope that have a material impact on purchase decisions are deemed binding contract terms: "Even if such representations and promises are not incorporated into the commodity housing sales contract, they shall constitute terms of the contract," and violations establish actionable breach of contract.

The 3% rule serves as the statutory default when the contract does not stipulate otherwise; always examine sales contract templates to ensure developers have not inserted clauses waiving this protection or expanding error tolerances. For units sold on a lump-sum whole-unit basis, contracts must attach architectural layout diagrams specifying dimensional tolerances. The advertising binding rule applies strictly to properties and facilities within the approved zoning and planning boundaries of the development project, and does not extend to external public infrastructure (schools, subway stations, public parks) outside developer property lines. Preserve all original promotional collateral, print brochures, and timestamped photos of the sales hall model. Benefit magnitude is categorized as Moderate based on financial compensation. Primary beneficiaries are yourself and your household.

建设部 (2001). 商品房销售管理办法（建设部令第 88 号，第十八、十九、二十条）. http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2002/content_70143.htm；最高人民法院 (2020 修正). 关于审理商品房买卖合同纠纷案件适用法律若干问题的解释（第三条）. https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/282621.html