How many pitfalls will you encounter when renovating an apartment?

Before renovation, I browsed Xiaohongshu for three months, saved over 200 avoidance guides, and joined five renovation groups. I thought I was already half an expert, but on the first day of construction, reality gave me a big slap. You never know where the next trap is, and you definitely don’t know how deep it is…

On social media, many consumers complain about their renovation experiences. What pitfalls might occur when renovating a house? What are the underlying issues behind these chaos and problems? “Xinhua Viewpoint” recently conducted an investigation.

Contract “Hidden Dangers,” Mismatched Goods, and Prominent Water Leakage Issues

In early January this year, Mr. Tan was attracted by a promotional event from a furniture company. After learning more, he initially decided to purchase full-house custom services and paid a 2,000 yuan deposit. A few days later, staff from the company came to measure and quote, and Mr. Tan found that the total price increased from 12,000 yuan in initial discussions to 15,000 yuan.

The staff said that only participating in the “full-house customization + finished furniture” package promotion could get the advertised discounts. Mr. Tan, who didn’t want to buy finished furniture, requested a refund but was refused.

The sales contract shown by Mr. Tan indicates that to enjoy the so-called “discount,” finished furniture must account for more than 50% of the customized contract amount, and the selection must be made before the customized furniture is shipped. “It’s like buying meat and having to include half a bone, and paying in advance.”

The China Consumers Association’s 2025 top eight complaint hotspots show that some home renovation businesses set various contract traps and hidden charges, with related complaints on the rise.

Some consumers say that contract “hidden dangers” are just the beginning, and issues like “goods not matching” after construction are common.

Previously, Li Yue (pseudonym), living in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, ordered full-house wardrobes and other furniture from a company in Chongqing via an e-commerce platform. After installation, she found that the actual materials used did not match the contract. “They showed original factory-made veneer during promotion, but during sales, they replaced it with products made from plain boards purchased from third parties and claimed they were original factory veneer.”

According to a statement from the original manufacturer, unauthorized use of their plain boards for surface finishing without permission, and claiming they are the manufacturer’s veneer, is false and potentially misleading.

Worse, some consumers found water leakage and seepage after moving in, affecting walls and floors. A netizen from Hunan posted on social media that before the New Year, there was slight seepage at the bathroom door of their new house. After the holiday, they discovered large areas of peeling paint, debris on the ground, and exposed mesh fabric inside the walls. They told reporters that although the renovation company promised to handle it properly, the cause of the leak has yet to be found.

Why is it difficult to protect rights?

Industry insiders believe that home renovation services have low entry barriers, long full-cycle chains, and non-standardized products, with some services lacking norms and strong constraints, making rights protection difficult.

— Industry standards are hard to implement.

Interviews reveal that although relevant departments have issued series of national standards like the “Code for Construction of Residential Decoration and Renovation Projects,” in practice, due to the concealed nature of home renovation projects, administrative supervision cannot cover everything, and consumers often rely on post-approval assessments, leading to delayed enforcement.

Currently, China has issued acceptance standards or industry standards for wooden furniture, custom furniture, and full-house customization products, but many are recommended rather than mandatory, allowing businesses to choose whether to follow them.

Xie Yuan, staff at the Market Supervision Office of Sanjiao Town, Yongchuan District, Chongqing, believes that the quality standards for some products are not detailed enough and difficult to unify. “In handling common complaints, many parties believe they have fulfilled the contract, but the results are unsatisfactory.” Several industry insiders also said that items like “what degree of deformation is normal” or “how big a gap is unqualified” lack mandatory detailed standards, leaving consumers often in a dilemma when protecting their rights.

— Responsibility becomes a “confusing account.”

“Home renovation service chains are too long; a construction site involves designers, custom manufacturers, foremen, workers… With many people involved, responsibility is often hard to clarify,” said Tao Yuan (pseudonym), a designer at a Chongqing renovation design company.

Lawyer Zhu Yingwei from Chongqing Jianyu Law Firm, who has handled many renovation disputes, found that the biggest headache for consumers in rights protection is evidence collection and preservation. For example, verbal promises like “full package,” “zero additional items,” or “imported materials” are not written into contracts; once water and electrical lines are embedded in walls, their brands and thickness cannot be verified. Some consumers have to repair quality issues themselves to live in the house, destroying the original site and losing the basis for later appraisal.

— Hidden dangers of “substituting beams and columns.”

During interviews, it was found that some home renovation companies adopt a “project-based” approach or frequently change legal representatives, even registering shell companies to evade legal responsibilities. Even if consumers win lawsuits, enforcement can be difficult.

The China Consumers Association stated that some renovation companies operate under brand or affiliated company names, with the actual signing and payment entities inconsistent, and the actual construction personnel different from the contract parties.

In July 2025, the chain home renovation brand Liangjiaju announced it would cease operations. Several consumers disclosed that the company’s previous contracts and invoicing were with a “ghost branch” that had been deregistered, potentially jeopardizing legitimate rights protection.

Building a “firewall” for the “homeownership dream”

This year’s government work report proposed “implementing service consumption quality improvement and benefit actions” and “strengthening consumer rights protection,” with a series of measures to create a safer consumption environment.

In January, the China Real Estate Industry Association issued the “Standards for Full-Case Residential Decoration and Renovation Services,” covering the entire process, requiring installation site cameras, and clarifying after-sales response and handling times.

Ma Yong, associate professor at the School of Economic Law at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, suggested that relevant departments should work together to improve the industry standard system, develop more detailed construction process standards and acceptance norms, and realize “what you see is what you get, and pricing is settled upon.”

Some beneficial explorations are already underway: Chongqing, Jiangxi, and other places have explicitly required property service companies to strictly implement decoration and renovation declaration and registration systems; to address the prominent contradiction of “pay first, work later,” some leading home renovation companies are exploring the introduction of banks as “fund custodians” for renovation payments…

To combat issues like “fraud” and “company跑路” (跑路 means “run away” or “abscond”), interviewees generally believe that a nationwide interconnected credit blacklist for home renovation companies should be established, including malicious additional charges, shoddy work, and embezzlement, restricting their market access and financing rights.

How can consumers accurately “avoid pitfalls”?

Zhu Yingwei recommends that consumers carefully review renovation contracts, refuse vague descriptions, specify brands and models of materials, clarify specific construction methods, and set penalties for delays. Before signing, they can also check company backgrounds via websites and avoid companies with very short establishment times or frequent changes in legal representatives.

“Ensure key records are preserved, critical milestones are inspected, and changes are confirmed in writing. Even if disputes arise later, consumers will have solid grounds,” Zhu Yingwei said.