The Hsinchu District Court ruled that the builder's liquidated damages forfeited were too high and 6.21 million yuan must be returned to the house buyer.

After hearing the case, the Hsinchu District Court determined that the amount confiscated by the builder was too high and reduced it to NT$3,665,000. It ordered the builder to return NT$6,217,756 to Ling Nu. （記者廖雪茹攝）

If you encounter a bank loan jam when buying a pre-sale house, you may face the risk of the seller terminating the contract and forfeiting a huge amount of liquidated damages! A woman surnamed Ling purchased a pre-sale case in Hsinchu and had successively paid more than 9.88 million yuan in project fees. However, because the loan was stuck, the builder confiscated 5.49 million yuan in liquidated damages. After the trial, the court determined that the confiscated amount was too high and reduced it to 3.665 million yuan, and ordered the builder to return 6.217756 yuan to Ling. The entire case remains open to appeal.

The judgment pointed out that Ling Nu purchased a pre-sale project in Hsinchu in 2023 for a total price of 36.65 million yuan, and has successively paid more than 9.88 million yuan in project fees. Unexpectedly, when the seller obtained the usage license and was notified to apply for a loan in September 2025, the bank Ling Nu cooperated with was unable to accept the loan due to the sudden notification of the central bank's credit control policy. Ling Nu then urgently changed her application for a loan to Hsinchu Sanxin.

During the process, the seller notified the seller of a one-month correction period, but because Ling Nu did not sign the "Delayed Transfer and Closing Letter", the seller shortened the period to three days. In the middle of the same month, the seller announced the termination of the contract and confiscated 15% of the total price, or NT$5,497,500 in liquidated damages, on the grounds that Ling Nu had not replenished the scheduled loan amount of NT$25.67 million as scheduled. Ling Nu was dissatisfied and appointed a lawyer to file a lawsuit demanding a full refund of the price paid.

After hearing the case, the Hsinchu District Court pointed out that Ling Nu indeed failed to complete the loan application procedures such as guarantee within the time limit, and the seller's termination of the contract was not inappropriate. However, the judge considered that Ling Nu continued to actively seek bank loan approval and was not malicious in breach of contract and failed to pay. After considering the seller's actual damage, socioeconomic conditions and interest rates, the judge believed that the 15% liquidated damages were too high and ruled that the penalty should be reduced to 10% of the total price, or 3.665 million yuan. The final verdict was that the seller should return Ling Nu 6.217756 yuan and statutory interest after deducting liquidated damages.

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