Chinese homeowner buys 34th-floor flat in 32-storey building gets no compensation

A Chinese man bought a flat on the 34th floor of a newly developed building only to be told four years later that the building only had 32 floors. The man, surnamed Shen, from northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, bought a new-build flat in a village near the provincial capital city Xian in 2013. He bought a 90-square-metre unit on the 34th floor of a building which cost 2,646 yuan (US$400) per square metre. It was about one third of the average housing price, because the residential compoun...

By Fran Lu

Chinese Man Buys Flat On 34th Floor, Learns Years Later That Building Has Only 32 Storeys

These properties are often built without official approvals and lack the legal protections enjoyed by regular residential projects.