Faux tiles painted on villas arouse complaints

The painted exterior walls of other villas peeled off.

(ECNS) -- A property company in Central China has been accused of painting brick lines on the exterior walls of its newest housing project to reduce cost, a local newspaper has said.

The villas with faux wall tiles, situated in Yuelu district of Changsha city, Hunan province, were pre-sold two years ago and have been handed to all 162 buyers this year.

An angry buyer on Tuesday showed the peeling exterior wall of his villa to reporters and said the tiles were not real. "This house cost me 1.7 million yuan ($279,050)," he said.

Reporters found the painted exterior walls of other villas had also peeled off.

The buyer also said the landscaping of the residential area was not what the property company had promised. "It is estimated that the company saved at least 100,000 yuan on each villa," he said, adding that all buyers had lodged complaints with the property company, but without results.

A staffer of the property company said the painted tiles "might be a design style." Another said they would take measures to fix the peeling paint on the exterior walls.

It has been reported that a row of affordable houses in Qingdao were painted with fake windows in what some believe was an effort by the construction company to cut corners.